The White Lotus International Games
by Seyary-Minamoto
Summary: For the Sokkla Free Writing Challenge. The White Lotus organize a competition between all four nations to promote international harmony and cooperation. The heroes of the world gather for the unique occasion, yet the Fire Nation Princess and the Water Tribe Warrior have other concerns aside from ultimate victory...
1. Game 1: Bow

After being inspired quite blatantly by the Olympics, I had the idea to write a long seven-parter story for the new Sokkla Free Writing Challenge. I'm rating it T for now, but the rating will likely change in the future. In any case, hope you enjoy!

* * *

"This is the worst idea you've had. It is. It's… where the hell did it even come from?"

"Oh, why so dramatic? One would think you're still sixteen years old, Fire Lord Zuko."

"One would think we've both learned a lot since I was sixteen, but after this, I'm not sure we have! Uncle, for crying out loud…"

"Sit back and just relax, nephew. Enjoying these events peacefully is one of the wonders of being Fire Lord, believe me."

Zuko scowled. He had no idea what Iroh's words meant, considering the old man had never been Fire Lord in the first place, but he was sure this event was as far from peaceful as the Hundred Year War had been. The main reason why he was certain of this was the ridiculous display taking place in the platform down below, in the fighting ring where the first rounds of the non-bending martial arts tournament were currently taking place.

He was sure that only a fool could expect an event like this one to go smoothly, and he took pride in not being one… or at least, not to that degree. How could he expect an all-out tournament between delegations of each nation to result in anything but utter chaos? How could ANYONE expect anything else to happen other than utter chaos?

But this was, according to Iroh, and to the White Lotus, the best way to keep rising tensions at bay and to prevent further wars. Zuko wasn't sure he could follow their logic, or lack thereof. From all he could see, King Kuei was beyond frustrated as he watched one of the main representatives of the Earth Kingdom in the middle of a crazed verbal fight with the Southern Water Tribe's favorite competitor: of course, the contestants in question would be two of Zuko's best friends. He sighed and shook his head as Toph yelled at the unfairness of the competition while Katara retorted that she needed to accept her loss fair and square…

"I didn't bend! I did not! That rock didn't move because of me!"

"No kidding, that's why it hit me square in the face, right?!"

"Maybe you just threw yourself at it, then!"

"Like I'd do that!"

Piandao, the Grand Lotus tasked with overseeing the non-bending events of the White Lotus' First International Games, was sighing in frustration as he tried to keep the angry girls apart. This was exactly why he had done his best to convince the other Grand Lotuses to keep the non-bending category exclusively for non-benders, instead of enforcing a ridiculous rule that stated benders could participate, so long as they didn't bend.

All Piandao could make of that rule was that benders, at least the more dishonest ones, would try to cheat and bend in the competition if they thought they could get away with it. And while Pakku didn't have to oversee that nobody cheated in the waterbending competitions, nor did Bumi with earthbending, or Jeong Jeong with firebending, Piandao had to be twice as agile, twice as careful, twice as observant, so as to judge whether the benders had cheated or not.

In this particular instance, it wasn't all that hard to tell that the earthbender had indeed cheated, whether intentionally or not. He was fortunate that she had taken it out on her friend instead of him, though, as they now argued bitterly and foolishly over what was fair and what wasn't. The next fight shouldn't be delayed, though, so Piandao needed to shepherd these two away immediately…

"Whatever's going on out there can't be good," Sokka said, as he glanced out through the archway from the stand-by area. Azula huffed.

"That depends on your point of view. As far as I'm concerned, your sister and friend can go ahead and wear each other out all they want. That way neither of them will be much of a challenge when I face them in the next round."

"When you what, now?" said Sokka, smirking at her. "That's awfully confident of you, partner. I wouldn't get ahead of myself like that if I were you."

"Oh, please. Do you really expect to beat me?" Azula asked, with raised eyebrows. Sokka smiled.

"I expect to show you not to underestimate me. I mean, here I thought you'd learned that lesson in the course of the last four years, but I guess being my White Lotus partner hasn't taught you much humility, has it?"

"On the contrary, I'm filled with pride," Azula said, sarcastically, as she smirked at him. "After having to live in close quarters with you for that long it has become apparent that I am a truly remarkable, extraordinary woman, regardless of the circumstances. Meanwhile, you are utterly ordinary and vulgar, regardless of the circumstances…"

"Which is why I can surprise people when I prove how competent I am, all while you're too busy showing off your great skills and abilities, my dear," he said, following her sarcastic game. Azula cringed.

"Terms of endearment? Really?"

"Hey, you were the one who kissed me the other day. Don't act like I'm all on my own in this," he said, winking at her. Azula blushed, an eyebrow twitching.

It had been a rather stressful situation. The heat of the moment, the relief of seeing him survive after their struggle to take back his lost sword, and the emotions boiling over within her had brought her to act too rashly. She wasn't entirely sure why she had kissed him… well, no, she knew why. She simply didn't want to acknowledge that she did because it would certainly complicate her life unnecessarily if she accepted that there were forces attraction driving her closer to her partner and friend with every passing day.

They hadn't always been partners, let alone had they been friends. Azula's life had been quite complicated for years after the war ended, and she had been an open enemy of Fire Lord Zuko until a group of rebels gathered enough forces to fight his rule. Azula's own group, the Kemurikage, had wanted to join in with them, and Azula had held them back. She'd distrusted the new rebels, for she had the feeling that they weren't working for the Fire Nation's sake at all. She had investigated them on her own, discovered they were funded by underhanded Earth Kingdom officials, and she had made certain to warn the Fire Lord of what was happening.

Zuko had thought it was a hoax, he had refused to believe the warnings Azula had initially issued to him in writing. Nevertheless, his advisors told him to prepare for everything, and so he did. When the staged rebellion fell apart with unexpected ease he realized his sister had been telling the truth. Despite his reservations, he thought he could forgive her for a few of her mistakes after all.

Only, Zuko forgot there was anything to forgive altogether when Azula showed up in the Fire Nation Palace a week later, in the worst shape he had ever seen her in.

Her friends had turned on her, again. She shut down for days, only allowing the physicians to treat her wounds, and only whispering her story most unwillingly to her sibling: the Kemurikage had discovered she had warned Zuko, and they had tried to rid themselves of her for her betrayal. They meant to make Zuko stronger or crush him in the process, and the lesson in humility the rebellion would have brought him could have achieved their goal. But when Azula had gone out of her way to stop the rebellion before it became a real threat, they had taken it as a sign of weakness and attempted to remove her from their leadership.

She had remained impassive on the most part: she had spoken with her mother for the first time in ages, but there was no peace to be found in her tormented heart after that either. She had only snapped out of her dark situation when the Kemurikage, led by a ferocious and wrathful Zirin, had attacked the Fire Nation Capital.

She had faced off against them, allied with people she had never expected to fight side-by-side with. But being on the same side as Team Avatar proved to bring better results than she had expected. She had dealt with Zirin herself, and in the end Zuko had granted her a pardon she had never thought she'd want. Her depression had weakened, even if it wasn't all gone yet, as she accepted their offer somewhat unwillingly. She knew it was the right thing to do – and perhaps that was the reason why she felt so unwilling to join him in the first place.

Being in the Palace hadn't helped her at all, though, and Zuko had noticed soon enough. He had given her the chance to go to Ba Sing Se, to help Iroh in his teashop… and it took a surge in her depression to convince her that it was the place to be, after several months of no longer being a public enemy in the Fire Nation.

It had come as no surprise to Zuko that Iroh would write to him to say Azula had been no help in the shop, and that instead she would sneak her way to Ba Sing Se University whenever she could to listen to the lectures, and even to hold some lectures of her own if she could get away with it. But it wasn't long before her bad reputation in the city caught up with her. When she came back to the shop after having another incident with angry earthbenders, asking to see her pay for her war crimes, Iroh came to the conclusion that they couldn't carry on this way.

He had reached out to the first place he could think of, the only group in the world – at the time – that could accept people regardless of their origin or past. Even so, it wasn't easy for Azula to earn the trust of the Order of the White Lotus. She had been initiated along with the newer members of the order, and given tasks and quests to uphold… but as she wasn't trustworthy just yet, she had no other choice but to work with someone she had never expected to join forces with.

Sokka had been fully initiated in the White Lotus a year earlier, after spending a few years in his Tribe, helping in its rebuilding and growth. He had been granted the honor of joining the White Lotus since his first encounter with Piandao, where the swordmaster had given him the White Lotus tile. In his hopes to become a better leader for his people, Sokka had decided fostering good relations with people from other cultures, people who were members of this large organization, was a good idea. So he had joined, and worked hard for them… and then he had been asked to keep an eye on the Fire Princess, who needed no eyes on her, going by what she'd said.

That hadn't stopped Sokka from eyeing her, though, and not just for the sake of keeping her safe – or for keeping the world safe from her, for that matter. After he and Suki had ended their relationship upon realizing that they spent more time apart than together, he had spent several years keeping his distance from the subject of love and focusing on his professional life instead. The result had been a lot more chaotic than he'd foreseen: upon seeing Azula again for the first time since their last fight in Hira'a, he had been unexpectedly susceptible to her remarkable beauty. He hadn't left behind his reservations about her, instinctive as they were, but as she teased him relentlessly by talking about all the vicious things she could do to him, she was setting him on fire in more ways than she realized.

Her attachment towards him had taken long to blossom for good, but he had felt responsible of her safety since the very start. The more he put her needs before his own, something he was used to doing with all his traveling companions, the more she felt drawn to the light he emanated from within. It wasn't a blinding, overwhelming sort of light… it was dim, subtle, warm. And she learned quickly that his light could grow cold, too. She had been the cause of that a few times, and while her pride had urged her to remain impassive over it, she had found she hated it when his darker side took hold of him. She had learned how to avoid it each time, understanding there were certain things that would trigger his cold rage if she pushed him too far.

So there was no talk about his fixation with the moon, for that was one of the first serious conflicts they had. No teasing over his lost sword, either. She hadn't been the cause of the third one, but after he had held a knife at a man's throat after being called a "son of a bitch" she had concluded it was better not to mention his mother either.

Eventually she had discovered other things she shouldn't say or do that triggered his bad side as well: she always saw a glimpse of that coldness when she acted recklessly, whether to save him or to succeed at whatever quest they had been undertaking. At a certain point she had asked him why did he hate her for doing what needed to be done: his response had left her speechless, as he grabbed her shoulders and told her that he couldn't lose anyone else.

It had taken a few more days for him to open up about what he meant. The loss of his mother, of his first love – and with that Azula understood what was behind his fixation with the moon –, and the many sacrifices he had made through his life had steeled him when it came to important things. She had assured him that she wasn't going to judge him for that: he whispered he was fortunate that she wouldn't.

As years passed, their bond tightened beyond all expectations. She had grown to trust him, and he was fully comfortable working with her by his side. They were one of the greatest teams in the Order once they'd grown used to their partnership, and soon enough they were achieving deeds that nobody would have expected from either one of them. They were in synch in ways few people could claim to be. They were unstoppable.

But that was so long as they were a team, as opposed to going up against each other.

The White Lotus International Games were an initiative proposed by Iroh upon careful analysis of the chaos the world was still submerged in, already over a decade after the war had ended. Kuei, despite his gentle-seeming demeanor, was still plagued by rage and grief over the loss of territories. Zuko had heavy suspicions that he had been underhandedly funding the latest rebellions against him, if just to test his leadership. The danger of another impending war was frightening for all, and it wasn't something Zuko wanted to jump into…

But the idea of the Games had been stupid to him from the start, and it still felt stupid as he watched them unfold from his privileged pavilion in the stands. Hakoda, Arnook and Kuei were there too, all the important heads of state gathered in this occasion to celebrate their great athletes and heroes together. Zuko got chills of the very worst kind just by standing next to Kuei, or anywhere near him for that matter. He couldn't help but wonder if his agreement to participate in the White Lotus's event was but a front to sneak in all sorts of assassins into the Fire Nation's lands…

Zuko's paranoia wasn't as well-founded as he might have thought it was, though. King Kuei, frustrated, confused and troubled as he was without anyone to turn to for sound advice (after his troubles with Long Feng, he feared that advisors only wanted to take advantage of him, and asking King Bumi for help wasn't going to be much good either way), had been more than thrilled to bring a massive delegation of Earth Kingdom fighters and athletes so he could finally thwart the Fire Nation in some way. Iroh's idea wasn't that farfetched: King Kuei felt the need to boost his people's morale, so they had good reasons to feel proud of their nation. And that was what he intended to achieve through participating in this event.

Arnook and Hakoda had joined too, both of them pleased to watch their fighters rising up to challenges through the event. Arnook had been elated to see the star of the Northern Water Tribe, the proud warrior Hahn, ace his first fight in the non-bending martial arts platform… but he had been discouraged quickly upon realizing Hahn's next opponent was none other than the Avatar himself. Hakoda's two children were the Southern Water Tribe's representatives, and he had high hopes for them both.

The Games had been separated into different categories: one for each kind of bender, one for non-benders, another for all kinds of bending, and the free for all category. The events were being held in the Fire Nation, which marked the first time in about two years since Azula had been in her birthplace. The Games had been organized and held there to reassure King Kuei and the two Tribal Chiefs that the Fire Nation would share their wealth and glory for certain now. It was also done so that they would hardly need to invest the money that Zuko had been forced to procure to pay for the accommodations and arrangements to make sure the Games could take place as Iroh wanted them to. Needless to say, Zuko had not been thrilled to do as much. But under the pressure from the Order of the White Lotus, along with the possibility that this would make Kuei use his time and efforts for something other than making Zuko look bad, he had caved in and followed Iroh's advice after all.

As the victory was officially granted to Katara, Toph was finally dragged away into the stand-by area again. She grumbled and shook off the White Lotus sentries that flanked her there, bending them away from her once she had a chance.

"Stupid Katara, she's getting what's coming…"

"You do know that's my sister you're talking about, right, Toph?" Sokka asked, amused. Toph huffed.

"What, you're taking her side?" she snapped. Sokka smiled.

"Pretty sure it's not me you'll have to worry about if you try to kick her ass," he said. "If she doesn't return the favor herself, Aang will."

"Oh, pfft. Like I'm scared of Twinkle Toes," she growled. Her eyebrow twitched as she heard an unpleasant sound: a chuckle, its source was the very woman standing next to Sokka. "And what the hell are you laughing at, Spicy?!"

"The fact that you're so worked up about a mere non-bending competition is, I must say, laughable," said Azula, smirking. "But never mind. You'll have several other opportunities to prove yourself, or to prove you're really not half as great as you always claim to be…"

"The hell did you just say to me?! The opportunity to do what, now?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in volume and octaves.

"You heard me, or are your ears are all clotted up?" said Azula, smirking. "The Games are barely beginning, Beifong. You'll be able to make a fool of yourself in future events just fine…"

"Y-you… you're one to talk!" Toph exclaimed, pointing a finger at her. "I mean, you haven't made a fool of yourself yet, but just you wait! Just you wait!"

"Does that mean you're cheering for me?" Sokka asked, with a happy grin. Toph snorted before spitting on the ground unceremoniously. Azula made a grimace of disgust.

"I'm going to be cheering for anyone but you lot. Jerks, all of you. Go, Earth Kingdom!" she shouted, walking away. A few other Earth Kingdom representatives shouted along with her as Sokka and Azula watched her leave.

"She never struck me as someone who'd have it in her to be a nationalist," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Sokka snickered.

"I think the competitiveness has caught up with her," he said. "If she can't beat us, she just hopes her comrades might manage to do it. I guess we'll have to stop teasing her if we want to stay friends with her after this insane event is over, eh?"

"I can understand the appeal of this event, from a political perspective," said Azula. "But it feels a bit convoluted and complicated, and it's hardly as organized as a massive enterprise like this ought to be. But what do I know…?"

"After being around you for four years, I think you know a lot more than you let on," said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. She smirked. He smiled too. "Yep. Thought so."

"It's going to take a miracle for things to go well enough to stop either Zuko or Kuei from killing one another," she said. "And I'm only hoping your father and Chief Arnook will be more civil than them. They seem to be, but…"

"But that scumbag, Hahn, is here," Sokka muttered, his eyebrow twitching. "So even if Chief Arnook and my dad stay calm, I'm damn ready to give that jerk a piece of my mind as soon as I get a chance."

"There, there," said Azula, patting Sokka's shoulder. "If I can be stuck in the same team as Chan, you can bear with being enemies with Hahn, right?"

"Heh. I guess so," said Sokka. "It will be awkward for you though, right?"

"Possibly, but I think I won't have to team up with him for any upcoming group events," she said. "There's a group of guards who are participating, I'll be joining them if I must."

"Heh. Good," said Sokka, smiling. "So my old enemy is still my enemy, your old love interest is your ally against your will, and the two of us, partners as we are…"

"Have to go out there right now and give each other the beating of a lifetime," said Azula, smirking. "I won't lie, I've been waiting for a chance to beat you up without retributions for quite some time now…"

"Oh, now, why would you?" Sokka asked, pouting. Azula looked at him in disbelief and held out her hand, fingers outstretched.

"First, you deliberately disobeyed my command to stay put when we were about to raid the group of pillagers the other day, and placed yourself in unnecessary danger that I afterwards had to sort out on my own as you bled out like the fool you are…"

"O-oh, well, but you know that they had Space Sword and I just kinda…"

"Second, you walked in on me while I was bathing, and instead of showing the slightest bit of remorse, you just stood there and tried to get a better look!"

"Ah, well, now, it's not my fault that you're so…!"

"Third, I asked you to dispose of the garbage bag two weeks ago, and you forgot, and I had to do it myself."

"What the…? I did? Really?!"

"Fourth, you thought it was a hilarious idea to adopt a puppy who already had an owner, you grew attached to it and then I had to comfort you when the real owner showed up."

"But he and I had hit it off so well and…! And hey, you liked him too! Don't play aloof now because you know it's true."

"Ha, as if. Of course I didn't care for it."

"Yeah, you totally didn't, which is why you wanted to adopt another puppy the next day. But sure, whatever makes your life easier, Princess."

"Shut up. I didn't want to adopt anything. Anyways, fifth… you ate my pudding."

"Hey, that was MY pudding!"

"It was not yours! You had already eaten yours!"

"Of course I hadn't, I…!"

"Eh-hem."

The two were startled to find Piandao standing behind them, an eyebrow raised. That their White Lotus superior had approached them just now could only mean one thing.

"It's your turn," he said. "Please don't try to kill each other, remember you'll still need a partner after the Games are over."

"I… will try to hold back. Sure," said Sokka, shrugging. Azula snorted.

"Hold back?" she said. "Have you conveniently forgotten that I successfully dealt with you, Beifong and the Avatar during an eclipse?"

"Pfft, with pirouettes and evasion. You have no idea how to fight with your bare fists," said Sokka, smirking. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"Ah. Or so you believe," she said, smirking as well as she followed Piandao out towards the platform.

"Oh, I don't believe it, I'm dead certain of it," said Sokka, proudly.

The crowds cheered as the two of them stepped out into the sun, following Piandao. The platform was all clean and perfect again, as though two girls hadn't been fighting in there hardly five minutes ago. Azula glanced up at the stands, finding the pavilion of the Heads of State with ease, for it stood out a lot. Upon confirming that Zuko seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she smirked and climbed on the platform, waiting for Sokka to stand at the opposite corner from the one she had chosen.

"You do understand the rules, then?" Piandao said, before looking at Azula pointedly. "No bending, of any kind. If I have the slightest suspicion that you've so much as heated up the temperature of anything within this ring…"

"You'll disqualify me, I know, I know," said Azula, waving a hand carelessly. "I'm not quite as foolish as the blind girl you just dealt with, Piandao. I know how to abide by rules."

"I certainly hope so," said Piandao. Azula cleared her throat.

"But, uh, just in the off case that, I don't know, my opponent suddenly gets a case of, how do you call it? A case of… unpleasant heating and hardening in his pants, I guess, will you also disqualify me? I wouldn't quite be bending that particular rise of temperature, now, would I?"

Her question was met by disbelief and shock throughout the audience and in the ring, too. Piandao's jaw dropped, as Sokka lifted a fist, blushing.

"W-w-what the hell are you spouting, woman?!" he cried out, glaring at her.

"Well, you're not going to claim now that you're above that, or are you? I mean, a few weeks ago I was in the middle of giving a criminal a bad beating, and the next thing I knew you were excusing yourself just so you could…"

"Enough ridiculous chatter!" said Piandao, his hands on his forehead. "For crying out loud, you two. Behave! You're… you're members of the Order, aren't you?"

"Oh? So we can't make dirty jokes, but Bumi can declare Flopsie the winner of earthbending events because he just can?" Azula asked, sarcastically. Piandao dropped his hand and sighed.

"Yes. Yes he can. He's a Grand Lotus, you two are only Officer Lotuses," with that, he gestured at Sokka. "So until you two reach the top of the ranks in the Order, you will do as we say. As you swore to do when you joined in the first place."

Azula raised a questioning eyebrow, as though she had no recollection of pledging such oath to the White Lotus. Sokka smirked at the sight. Somehow she always stirred that force of attraction in him when she showed her rebellious nature towards anyone who dared be a figure of authority towards her.

"So, no bending. If one of you falls off the platform, the other wins by default," said Piandao. "And… try to be civil, please. It's a martial arts competition. Don't… gauge each other's eyes out or something of the sort."

"What? Are you serious? So my strategy is out of the question? Bummer…" said Azula, rolling her eyes. Sokka couldn't hold back from laughing this time. Piandao huffed and shook his head. These two were either the best or the worst team the Order had ever seen, but he had a lot of trouble deciding which one it was whenever he watched them in action.

"Just… perform your bows," he said. "Please."

"Our… bows," Azula repeated, raising her eyebrows before looking at Sokka. "Be my guest."

Sokka's eyebrow twitched. He would not. There was no way he would do that! He had never bowed his head to her, unless it was mockingly, and he wasn't about to start now. He knew her really well, well enough to understand she had no intentions to bow as well. He wasn't about to embarrass himself by bowing to her at all

So they both remained immobile, glaring intently at each other, albeit Azula was smirking ever so slightly. Sokka snarled, his nostrils flaring with irritation.

"I'm… I'm only going to bow if you bow!" he said. Azula's smirk widened.

"Well, then, let's do it, shall we?" she asked. Sokka jumped.

"You're not going to do it. You'll just stand upright like that, and you won't bow at all!" he exclaimed.

"My, oh, my! You're accusing me of such dishonorable behavior? Why, Sokka, aren't you rude!" Azula said, a hand on her forehead in a dramatic gesture. Sokka fumed.

"Azula…!"

"For crying out loud, will you both comply with this or will you be disrespectful fools instead?" Piandao asked. Sokka pouted and pointed at Azula.

"I won't bow until she's bowed!"

"Well, I'm not bowing by myself, that'd be embarrassing," she said, matter-of-factly. Piandao huffed and shook his head.

"Such a brilliant display of maturity by our most honorable members," he growled. "Never mind, forget the bowing."

"Sorry, Master," said Sokka, looking at him regretfully

"Just start fighting already," said Piandao, sighing. The sooner this was over with, the better for everyone.

Sokka smiled with remorse at him again before lifting his hands in a defensive position, bracing himself for any attack Azula might have been preparing to launch upon him.

Azula made no moves, though. She stood in place, watching Sokka with a raised eyebrow. He smirked and dropped his hands.

"Come on. Stop giving me that look. He said we could start."

"Well, I'm not saying otherwise, am I? I'm just watching you," she said. Sokka bit his lip.

"I suppose I am that handsome, aren't I?" he said, cockily. Azula's eyebrow twitched. "Well, then, keep watching, Princess. It's quite flattering that you're charmed by my handsome features…"

"Peasant features, rather," said Azula. Sokka's smirk widened.

"You're not denying you're charmed, though. Now my ego is really boosted."

She finally smiled and readied herself for combat. He had known she wouldn't let that slide if he played his cards right.

She was cautious and careful as she came closer to him, her hands held out at a distance from her face and chest. She was ready to catch any attacks he might throw her way, and to attack if he decided not to take the plunge himself.

But he did, with a quick jab that Azula deflected with one hand. She twirling against his outstretched arm, smacking him on the back of the head as she came to stand behind him. Sokka jumped out of her reach, turning around quickly to find Azula smirking happily, her hands raised again. Sokka pouted.

"Here I thought you'd go easier than that on your hopeless peasant partner," he said. Azula snorted.

"The fact that you're hopeless only means that my progress to the next round is practically guaranteed," she said. "I'd be a fool if I played around just to goad your ego."

"Funny, because you already goaded it, and now you're standing around, giving me weak hits and not going all out on me," said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. "So… are you sure you're not a fool, Princess?"

Azula raised her eyebrows too before attacking again. Sokka smiled as he dodged and blocked her attacks, slipping in a few punches of his own. She deflected them too, taking the opportunities to stab at him with her outstretched fingers. She hadn't trimmed her nails, so if she got to him she might land very bad scratches across his body.

Not that Sokka would mind being scratched by her, though. If anything, he had often dreamt about how those fingers would feel as they dragged slowly over his back, leaving trails of red in their wake…

Whenever their hands touched he felt an electric spark of sorts, not unlike Azula's bending, but not quite as physical as that either. As Piandao had yet to declare that Azula was bending, Sokka guessed it was only the attraction between them playing games on his head again. Oh, but how he loved those games, especially when he was in close quarters with her…

She ducked to avoid one of his punches and tried to strike his elbow with her knuckles. Sokka pulled away quickly enough to evade the attack, and had the chance to kick at her, which he took quite regretfully. Azula jumped back to avoid the kick, and Sokka lunged forward again, almost reaching her before she twirled and evaded him again.

It was a fight to be sure, but it felt like a dance, too. The more danger he posed to her, the more she'd become evasive, slippery, not unlike fire. He couldn't help but watch in awe as she flowed through her motions, ducking, punching, kicking and jumping in the most graceful of ways… she was incredible. She compelled him to try harder, to fight to his fullest, and he could only hope he was doing the very same thing for her, too.

There was barely any animosity to be found in them as they fought. Despite the taunts and the jokes, which had served to motivate them into fighting, this felt like their training sparring instead. They would taunt each other then, too, though they would fight using weapons and bending instead of their bare fists. She would resort to underhanded techniques at times to beat him, and Sokka would lunge at her after she declared herself the victor, to tickle her if he was in the playful mood, or to pin her to the ground and demand a rematch if she'd cheated him too blatantly. Too often he had been tempted to kiss her then, but he had held back every time… but after the first kiss they had shared less than a week ago, he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back the next time they were up close in the middle of their heated fights.

He only hoped that this next time wouldn't happen now, of course. He couldn't say for certain, but he doubted Azula would take kindly for him to kiss her in front of an international crowd, comprised by many important world leaders and by the two family members she was in amicable terms with. It'd be better to avoid upsetting her in any way if he really wanted to kiss her more often.

But as they continued to fight-dance he suspected she was allowing him to fall into a false sense of complacency right before delivering a finishing blow… and he wasn't wrong to believe as much.

She had him backed to the edge of the ring, but he shifted forward to avoid toppling over just in time. Azula was determined to keep him in his spot, casting a flurry of fists his way, but to her surprise, Sokka caught her right hand and pulled her towards him.

"Sorry, Princess!" he exclaimed. Azula's eyes widened.

He was going to throw her over the ring.

He was seriously going to do that.

In a desperate plight to stay on the ring, Azula stretched out her other hand and clasped Sokka's shoulder. Her legs, outstretched, struck his just before he could throw her off the ring…

The ring was surrounded, fortunately, by cushions that would soften anyone's fall. They would have to thank whoever had designed that, or they could have been injured quite badly as they collapsed, flying off the ring together, their limbs tangled, their eyes wide, their faces the picture of pure horror.

And they hit the cushions, hard, side by side.

Azula rolled over, aghast, as both her and Sokka breathed heavily. They looked at each other in chagrin, wondering if maybe they'd be given the chance to fight again, in order to choose the winner of the classifying stage…

Piandao's face suddenly appeared above them, up in the ring, and no surprise, he actually seemed amused. He raised his eyebrows as he regarded them both with a small smile.

"Well, that's a first. Two disqualified fighters in one go. I guess Katara will pass right into the third round thanks to your funny stunt," he said, as soft laughter echoed through the public.

Both Azula and Sokka grimaced and frowned, outraged, as a louder laugh rang not too far from where they were. The sound was quite familiar for them both.

"Hahaha! I knew you two would have to eat your words! Hahaha!" Toph shouted, doubling over as Katara and Aang snorted softly, standing next to her as they watched Sokka and Azula.

"Y-you… y-you made me fall." Sokka said, grimacing. Azula huffed.

"Like I was going to let you push me off alone!" she exclaimed. "If I'm going down, partner, you'll be going with me. That's how it works!"

"B-but that's…!" Sokka squeaked, as they pushed themselves up. "That's ridiculous! I demand a rematch! Rematch! We have to do it again!"

"Not going to happen," said Piandao, shaking his head slowly. "Accept the consequences of your foolishness."

"B-but…!" Sokka complained, pouting. Next to him, Azula shook her head and stormed off, brushing past Aang, Katara and Toph while fuming. Toph only snickered as she watched her leave.

"Well, that went smoothly," said Hakoda, chuckling in the pavilion. "But either way, one of my kids would have been out of the fight by the next round, so this way I'm spared the worries, eh?"

"I can't believe it. She's one of our best competitors and she just… she blew her fight? Just like that?!" Zuko exclaimed, looking at the ring in chagrin. Iroh chuckled.

"No worries. Lady Ty Lee is our best non-bender, she might just win the competition in the end," he said. Zuko sighed.

"I hope so…"

All in all, Hakoda, Kuei and Zuko had watched some of their best fighters fall today, so none of them could boast too much about the success of their teams. Perhaps their common displeasure over the results would be enough to ease the lingering bad blood between Kuei and Zuko…

* * *

"Azula! Azula, wait up!"

She didn't comply, intent as she was to continue walking through the trees, her hands firmly pressed into fists. Sokka chased after her, as they left behind the stadiums and locations that had been built for the Games. Nobody else followed, for they were all invested in watching the result of today's martial arts tournament.

Azula finally stopped when Sokka was only a few feet away from her. She turned around, lifting her hands again, readying herself to fight in the middle of a forest clearing, on grass instead of solid rock.

"Azu-…?"

"You're not about to tell me you're satisfied with the fight we just had, are you?" she snapped. "Well, then, we're finishing that right now. No platform, no Piandao, no rules, no crowd."

"No rules? So you're going to bend at me?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Only if you don't humor me," said Azula, with a small smirk.

Sokka smiled, despite himself. He bit his lip before lifting his hands again. And with that, they resumed their fight.

The trees were unpleasant obstacles, causing them to trip at times, or to crash against their trunks when the other pushed them against one. They were wilder than before, less interested in being elegant and impressive, determined to outdo the other in any way they could.

They fought ruthlessly, sweating as the efforts they were making took their toll on them. Azula gasped, even groaned at times, as she kicked and punched away with no mercy. Her movements would have been all the more beautiful had they been accompanied by her blue fire, Sokka thought… but he was fortunate that wasn't the case. Her bending would easily give her the victory, and he wasn't sure he was ready to let her win.

Sokka stepped back to avoid a punch, catching the next one with a hand… and he tripped with another stray root, causing him to topple down while still holding her fist. Before he knew it they had fallen again, and once more they were down together, but this time he had been the one to land on his back. She dropped atop him, breaking her fall with her free hand before she could support herself with the other one too, once Sokka released it.

They breathed heavily as they stared at each other, both too tired by now to carry on fighting. Sokka's previously defiant eyes had now softened, and unexpectedly, so had Azula's.

"Surrender?" she asked him. He smiled.

"To you?" he asked. "Don't I always?"

"You should," she whispered, her eyelids fluttering as she stared at him, dazed "You really should…"

Neither one could win on equal conditions, but they had never been equals on all levels. It was something they had accepted in due time, something they had embraced and that had turned them into a better team than they'd ever hoped to be. Whenever she felt weak, he was strong. Whenever he faltered, she stood her ground. They'd become partners in so many senses, expect for one they longed to join one another in…

Her lips trembled as she realized she was hovering too close to his lips. No, she couldn't do that, not again. He hadn't hated her for it, fortunately, but if she dared kiss him again he might not be so forgiving… but curses, she wanted to do it. She really did.

She found that losing her chance to take the first medal of the Games hadn't been what had enraged her so much. She had been angry because the accursed platform had been too small for her taste, because they had fallen off it before they could do anything to avoid it. Because their fight had gone unfinished… and she had longed to keep fighting with him, feeling that incredible kinship she did when they trained together. The interruption, rather than the loss, had been a disappointment.

And that was bothersome, to be sure. Since when had she grown so disinterested in victory? She hadn't, though… at least not always. The idea of conquering the ultimate prize for the Games had beckoned to her ever since she heard of it, and she truly wanted to be victorious. So maybe it was simply because this first event wasn't that important, to be sure. Maybe it was because she'd found it amusing that Sokka had been set up as her first opponent, and because she knew she'd have more chances to win later. So her ambitiousness wasn't gone, of course not. That would be ridiculous, right…?

All thoughts of her ambitions disappeared quickly, though. Her eyes widened when she felt his hand caressing her cheek gently, when she noticed his eyes were darkening with desire, not unlike her own.

She couldn't possibly put into words the feeling of relief that filled her when he pushed himself up just enough to kiss her. He was the one kissing her now! He truly was!

Her previous fears, born after the first kiss they'd shared, were dispelled at least for the moment. Even if it might not necessarily mean he had strong feelings for her, at least it meant he liked kissing her, and that was enough. It was all she needed right now.

She responded eagerly, as she felt him embrace her with an arm, his other hand still on her soft cheek. His lips were perfect, she found, as he kissed her repeatedly before daring request entrance into her mouth. She allowed it, going so far as to sliding her tongue past her lips so it could find his. She thought she heard him laugh in surprise, but he was quick to engulf her tongue with his opening mouth, and he held her in place as his tongue jousted against hers.

She dropped fully atop him, allowing herself the freedom to touch him with one hand. Her long nails caressed his cheek after her fingertips, and Sokka shivered in delight under their touch. She touched his neck too, trailing his shoulder gently with her hand… His hand slid a little lower than she expected it to, and cupped her buttock, prompting her to gasp again.

Sokka swallowed hard as the kiss was interrupted, his hand still on her rear. She gave him a curious look, and he could only smile guiltily, unwilling to pull his hand away at all.

"You're hopeless," she said, unable to stop from smiling as well as she pushed herself up.

Sokka grimaced and sighed. He had blown it, broken the boundaries when he wasn't supposed to. Damn it. He only hoped he hadn't gone so far that she would regret having kissed him altogether…

He sat up as well, finding she was breathing slowly, her eyes closed, her face flushed. He smiled before reaching out to brush one strand of her hair back into place.

"Sorry if that was… too sudden," he said, pulling away his hand with uncertainty. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"Which part? The falling off the platform? The kiss? You touching my hair?" she asked. Sokka smiled.

"All of it, maybe," he said. "I… really hoped I'd get to the next stage. I'm sorry for trying to send you flying off the platform…"

"No trying, you succeeded," she said, with a small smile. "But I suppose I have no choice but to forgive you, now, do I?"

Sokka smiled awkwardly too as Azula stood up. She extended a hand to help him up, and he took it without a second thought. He didn't let go of it right away, though, and to his delight, it didn't seem Azula minded that much.

"All things considered, I threw you down with me, so…" she said.

"So we fell together, and we screwed up ourselves and each other with that," said Sokka, with a weak grin. Azula sighed.

"I will try to avoid getting in your way in non-bending events. It's not like you can compete in firebending ones, so… it's only fair, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," said Sokka, shrugging. "But… I like competing with you after all, you know?"

"Heh. Is it that much fun being my enemy again? After all these years?" she asked. Sokka smiled

"It's just fun being around you. After all these years," he said, sliding his fingers between hers.

Azula's heart was racing, as Sokka leaned down again to kiss her anew. She responded slightly more shyly this time, but she was left longing for more once he pulled away. She swallowed hard.

"Sokka, are we…?" Azula started. He gritted his teeth and shrugged. "I mean, I know I… I overstepped unspoken boundaries a few days ago, but I…"

"Are you sorry for it?" he asked, looking at her hopelessly. She shook her head gently, and he breathed out in relief. "Heh. Good."

"Good? Is it, really?" she asked, looking at him in surprise. "Sokka…"

"Well, was I really that bad? I know I've lacked practice, but here I thought I'd made up for that first unresponsive kiss with this one…"

"N-no, you weren't bad, you… you did well," she said, lowering her gaze. Sokka smiled.

"Good to hear," he said. "And… well, I get it, you probably think it's weird for partners to do this sort of thing, or…"

"Or it's weird for us to do this sort of thing, regardless of our partnership," she whispered. "I mean, we're… we've been traveling together for a long time now. Should we… forsake all limits indeed? Is it wise to do it?"

"Well… we can take our time to decide whether it's wise or not. There's no need to make a bigger deal out of this than we have," he said, smiling. "Take it easy. If it's no good, it's no good. That's all there is to it."

"And if it's good?" Azula asked, looking at him again. Sokka smiled.

"If it's good… we'll figure out how to keep it good from now on, I guess," he said. She smiled a little.

"I wonder how that'd work," she said, as he chuckled and released her hand.

"So do I," he admitted, smiling kindly. "Well, then… we should likely go back. Someone might come after us and…"

"The target competition will be next," said Azula, nodding. "You need to prepare for it."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said, smiling. "Just have to go back to the inn, get my boomerang… you'll go watch?"

"Not like I have anything else to do, the firebending competitions are only starting tomorrow," said Azula, smiling a little. Sokka beamed.

"Alright, alright. Then I'll do my best to put on a worthy show for you," he said, stepping back and grinning. "I'll see you in a bit, then?"

"Of course," said Azula, nodding.

Her smile widened, though, when he arched forward, his body bowing down to her most ceremoniously before he stood upright again, smiling. He smiled as he saw her eyes gleam with disbelief, and he chuckled before taking off to the inn as intended.

They had fallen together, that was for sure, but not just off a platform. She surely had clutched at him in the desperate hope not to fall in the first place, trying to use him to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground, but she hadn't expected him to lose his footing too. And fallen they had, time over and time again, until there was nothing for them to do but thrive in the experience of growing completely smitten over someone, regardless of their flaws, their quirks, their mistakes, their past.

Things had changed between them, and Azula knew that, one way or another, their relationship would be different once the White Lotus Games ended. She hoped the change would be for the better, despite she dreaded it could also be for the worse.

But she had hopes, and that was already more than she had ever expected to have in the first place.


	2. Game 2: Memory

_Just as a heads up, in case it's not clear in the story, the cavalry battle is the kibasen, a Japanese game._

* * *

Hahn's yell of frustration was music to Sokka's ears. Achieving victory in this competition was certain to make him happy no matter what, but knowing he had surpassed the Northern Water Tribesman just seconds before his boat crossed the finish line was all the more uplifting for him. So as Hahn kicked and fumed over his perceived unfair loss on his vessel, Sokka hooted and hugged his sister and Yuro, the last member of their sailing crew.

"We did it, Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, beaming. "We won!"

"First gold for the Southern Water Tribe!" Sokka shouted, laughing happily. "We're the best!"

"In sailing, that's for sure!" said Katara, as the three of them climbed onto the dock.

Sokka laughed as he saw Hakoda cheering for them at a distance. This particular competition had mostly featured Water Tribe participants, four teams from each of the tribes, along with one from the Earth Kingdom and another from the Fire Nation. The participants had been mostly non-benders, albeit benders were free to join in as well. Yet having earthbenders in a competition that involved no earth whatsoever, and having firebenders in the middle of large masses of water, was simply pointless.

So the contestants from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation had been solely non-benders, while the Water Tribes had brought in benders and non-benders alike. Sokka's team had only featured one waterbender, but as Katara proved, she was more than enough bending power for their team. Sokka's leadership and command helped him, Katara and Yuro to overcome all obstacles and complications, including a crack in their ship's hull, courtesy of Hahn's two waterbenders, who attacked their ship under their leader's orders. Katara's quick actions salvaged their run, though, as she froze the water on the gap in their boat, and after great efforts, the Southern Water Tribe's team came out triumphant.

"How could this be?! After all the time they lost, we fell behind?!" Hahn roared at his teammates at their boat.

Sokka chuckled proudly as he walked towards his father, who gave him and Katara a bear hug. Hakoda laughed happily and lifted his children with his tight hug.

"Dad, stop!" Sokka laughed, patting Hakoda's shoulder as Katara laughed too.

"You've made me real proud, you two! Great job!" he exclaimed, mussing their hair. He also patted Yuro's shoulder, and the younger man smiled at him. "And you too, Yuro! Fantastic! Now old Arnook can't keep flaunting their gold medal, can he? Haha!"

The gold medal in question had been won after a waterbender from the North had triumphed in the ice-sculptures competition, beating Katara by a very thin margin. She had accepted her second place without making a fuss, despite her brother had grumbled about the poor art taste of the judges if they found any flaws in his sister's work.

Yet now the judges were granting them their medals, and the Southern Water Tribe and Northern were tied in their numbers of gold and silver medals by now. So far the competitions were only beginning, and all participant nations were mostly even in their medal numbers. The earthbending sculpting competition had ended with Toph's unsurprising triumph, closely followed by Haru, but to the Earth King's chagrin, an earthbending girl from the Fire Nation colonies, Kori Morishita, had taken the third place.

Despite her medal, and Ty Lee's second place in the non-bending fighting competition from opening day, the Fire Nation hadn't been doing quite as well as other nations until that day. Sokka took his medal gratefully, eyeing the golden material with a broad grin before lifting his eyes, wondering if the firebending competition was over yet. It had been unfortunate for it to take place just at the same time as the sailing one, but he had hoped it might be over by the time his own had ended…

He didn't see her, though, so he guessed it wasn't over after all. Maybe he'd have a chance to watch her compete against the other firebenders, though! He smiled, figuring he'd let his family know he was off to the firebending stadium, when a voice behind him startled him.

"Oh, dear. First place as your sailing team's leader, you'll never stop bragging about this, will you?"

His eyes lit up as he turned around. There she was, of course. It certainly was a pity that her competition had ended and he hadn't had a chance to watch her, but at least this way they could talk and…

He had been about to give her a witty answer when he noticed the medal around her neck. Azula smirked as Sokka's jaw dropped, but he closed his mouth quite quickly before smiling enthusiastically at her.

"You did it! You won too!" he exclaimed. Azula laughed before he threw his arms around her.

"Now, now, stop getting mushy. It's nothing to be so clingy over," she said, as he chuckled and pulled away.

"So now you guys are probably winning, huh? All winners were Fire Nation?"

"Well, we're doing better than you, that's for sure," said Azula, smirking proudly. "In terms of quantity, no other nation has as many medals as we do. How does that make you feel?"

"Bad, but we'll get back on track eventually," said Sokka, smirking. "There's a lot of competitions waiting still, like the one in the afternoon. Katara and I are joining the cavalry battle…"

"Is that so?" Azula asked, smiling. "So I'll have my chance to get back at you for the martial arts fiasco there? Now that's certainly good news…"

"Wait, you're joining too?" Sokka asked, his eyes widening. "The cavalry battle? W-who's going to do it with you?"

"Three Royal Guards," Azula said, shrugging. "All they have to do is carry me after all, so as long as they do their job I'll be satisfied."

Sokka's eyebrow twitched and he pouted a little. Azula looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Don't tell me you're jealous…" she said, smirking. Sokka's cheeks flushed.

"Jealous of what?! I-it's not like I would be, what's there to be jealous about?!" he exclaimed. "I-it's just a competition, so even if you'll get lifted by three guys I have nothing to be jealous about. I mean, even if it wasn't a competition I wouldn't, now, would I? I mean…!"

"You wouldn't? So does that mean I can hire them to carry me everywhere from now on in our trips?" said Azula, smirking. "That's wonderful to hear. Here I thought you'd be unreasonable about it, but this is great. I do miss traveling by palanquin after all…"

"Our trips? Y-you wouldn't…" Sokka said, his eyes wide.

"Well, why shouldn't I?" Azula asked, smirking. Sokka blushed. "Oh? And what's the redness in your cheeks supposed to mean?"

"I-it means nothing! I just don't think they should come because they're… t-they're not White Lotus agents like us!"

"Or you think they shouldn't come because you had hopes we'd be alone together so you could…"

"Hey! HEY!"

Sokka jumped upon recognizing the menacing voice. He turned as Hahn stormed up at him, his silver medal held in a tight fist. Azula frowned.

"You got lucky today, you prick, but you're not getting lucky again after this!" Hahn roared. "You're going to get creamed in every other competition and I'll see to it, you…!"

"Woah, I got lucky? So it's not like I had to work twice as hard after some jackass ordered his goons to break my ship's hull?" Sokka asked, snarling menacingly. "You've got some nerve, you pretentious hog-monkey!"

"You just stay out of my way if you know what's good for you!" Hahn shouted. "Or else…!"

"Or else what?" Azula intervened, folding her arms and tapping her forearm with her index finger. Hahn frowned upon realizing he'd been interrupted. "You'll keep yelling and spraying us all with your spit?"

Hahn remained frozen where he was, as Sokka bit back an approving smile. Azula's glare defied Hahn to keep going on his rant, but since he remained quiet she only glanced at Sokka now.

"For all I called you a savage, I find I was sorely mistaken to say that now," she told Sokka. "You're a peasant, no doubt, but you're no savage. I expected the Southern Water Tribe to be the less civilized one, but now I find that it's the Northerners who can't seem to have enough manners to stop from interrupting conversations just to make complete fools of themselves…"

Hahn snarled at her, but he shook his head and stormed off with that. Azula smirked as Sokka beamed at her.

"Say what you will about my hideous morals, but how I love destroying people's confidence like this…" Azula said, smiling proudly. Sokka chuckled.

"Your morals certainly are hideous, but I have to admit that it comes in handy for situations like these," he said, patting her back. "Thanks there, Azula."

"You owe me one now," she said, smirking. Sokka sighed.

"Yep. That's absolutely the answer I should have expected," he said, with a small smile as Katara and Aang approached them hand in hand, gazing over their heads at Hahn as he walked away.

"Is everything alright with you guys?" Aang asked, stopping before them.

"Did Hahn do something to you, Sokka?" Katara said, frowning.

"Other than doing his very best to be a monumental jerk…" Sokka said, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

"Why, give him more credit than that. He actually succeeded at being a monumental jerk," Azula added. Sokka snickered and Katara raised her eyebrows.

"Glad you two are getting along so well, despite it all. I really thought you wouldn't last over a week of partnership, but…" she said. Sokka smirked.

"All things considered, since we haven't killed each other after all this time, I'd say we really are the best team there is! Right?" he said, surrounding Azula's shoulders with an arm and smiling at her. Azula blinked blankly as Aang laughed softly under his breath.

"Depends on what your standards for 'best' are, naturally," said Azula, looking at him disapprovingly. "I'd rather have a partner who will follow my orders when I'm serious about them, though, so I wouldn't know if we're all that set to be a great combination, Sokka…"

"You're still mad about that, huh?" he said, with a sad smile.

"Eh, well, dad was wondering if you were joining us for lunch," Katara said, looking at Sokka. "He says it's all his treat, since we must celebrate our success, so…"

"Woo! His treat! Heck, yes!" Sokka exclaimed, throwing a celebratory fist in the air. Azula looked at him with a quizzical eyebrow raised, and he blushed and smiled awkwardly at her. "Oops. Got a little overexcited, huh?"

"When it's about food, don't you always, Sokka?" Aang said, smiling before looking at Katara meaningfully. The waterbender swallowed before addressing Azula now.

"You could join us too, I think… if you'd like," Katara said, looking at the Princess somewhat apprehensively. Still, it wasn't open hostility, which was what Azula had grown to associate with Katara ever since they'd become acquainted. It was some progress, there was no denying that.

"You really should join us!" said Sokka, beaming. "We should celebrate your victory too, after all."

Azula smiled and shrugged, and Sokka chuckled. He knew that was as good as it got with her. For some reason, it seemed she didn't really know how to accept displays of kindness from people. Either she'd act arrogantly or she would seem to be at a loss for words, there was no in between. The first reaction often led them to bicker over her inflated self-image, but the second often made Sokka swoon as he gazed at her. His heart fluttered in his chest just upon seeing that smile.

It seemed Katara didn't notice Sokka's momentary daze over Azula, as she was busy letting Hakoda know that they'd be joined by Azula, too. The Princess was hardly acquainted with the Southern Water Tribe's Chief, and she feared he might be affected by her very widespread dark reputation, but he surprised her by being was rather warm and welcoming. He even made to hold out Azula's chair in the restaurant they went to, but Sokka beat him to it.

"Everyone wants to hold out Prissy Princess's chair, huh?" Toph asked, smirking as she sank in her own seat, her feet on the table. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I am a Princess. It's simply the way it should be," she said. Sokka snorted. And there it was, the arrogant response instead of the shy one. Despite he felt compelled to retort at her, he was also delighted upon realizing he could read her so well by now.

Toph had joined them at the restaurant, busy as she had been arranging her team for the cavalry battle. Why she had chosen to join the cavalry battle, nobody knew, but she had insisted on it and it seemed she'd finally found three Earth Kingdom guys to join her in it. All the same, it didn't bother Azula in the slightest that she'd take part in the event. It only made the earthbender her first mark for the competition, and she was certain she'd beat her at this non-bending competition with ease.

"I just wish I could join the cavalry battle too, though," Aang pouted. "Why can't I participate in these group events with the Air Acolytes?"

"They're actually Earth Kingdom citizens still, and King Kuei said he wouldn't let them join you," said Katara, sighing.

"Besides, you already have three medals. So please shut up, Twinkle Toes," said Toph, scowling at him. Aang smiled.

So far he had taken home more medals than anyone else. The non-bending martial arts tournament had resulted in his victory, for he had resorted to evading and dodging attacks, a skill he had in spades. His fights had mostly ended when he evaded an attack while standing too close to the edge of the ring, causing his rivals to fall off it clumsily. Suki and Ty Lee had been the last to fall against him, the first of them in the semifinals and the next in the finals. Aang had taken his gold medal after defeating both of them effectively.

The other competitions he took part in were the aesthetic bending competitions, like the one Azula had resulted victorious in just today. Aang had joined the waterbending one, but only landed the bronze medal. His other gold had come from a non-bending short-race competition, in which he had outrun everyone with his outstanding agility yet again.

"Still, I couldn't join the sailing competition, or the cavalry one," he complained. "It'd be more fun if I could have a team, you know?"

"We can try to change the rules for the next one," said Katara, caressing his arm. "Maybe we'll find a way to let you make a mixed team, who knows?"

"Isn't it bad enough that he's the Avatar, you want to give him a team?" Sokka said, grimacing. "The rest of the competitors won't stand a chance, you know?"

"Oh, shush. He's got every right to have a team too," said Katara.

Aang chuckled as a waiter approached, bringing all the drinks they had ordered. Their dishes would come later on.

"Finally!" Hakoda exclaimed, beaming before standing up. "Very well, then, it's time for a toast, younglings!"

"Sure thing," said Sokka, smiling too and lifting his glass as Hakoda did the same.

"To my children and their remarkable gold medals! May many more of them come our way in the future," he said, winking at Sokka and Katara. They smiled warmly as Azula and Toph moved their glasses to their lips.

"But Azula won one too, remember?" Aang said suddenly, looking at Hakoda. "We should toast for her too, right?"

"Oh, how could I be so foolish," said Hakoda, shaking his head. "I stand corrected. To my children, and to my future daughter, and for their prolonged success in…!"

"Your WHAT?!" Katara exclaimed, as both Azula and Sokka did a double take at Hakoda's words. He blinked blankly, looking at them in confusion.

"Well, is that not the case? I mean, with all Sokka talks about her I thought…"

"T-that doesn't mean that they're dating!" Katara exclaimed, as Azula looked at Sokka in surprise. His cheeks were as red as ever. "They work together, that's all it is!"

"Oh, really?" Hakoda asked. Toph grimaced, and Aang looked at her with uncertainty. Either the three of them were making too much of the relationship between Azula and Sokka, or Katara was blatantly refusing to see it…

"Really. Right?" said Katara, looking at them. Azula huffed.

"Clearly," she said, with her most convincing voice. Sokka gulped and nodded.

"Yep. We're just… business associates. Partners. Friends, just that…"

"Yeah, pretty sure that list carries on after that," said Toph, smirking. "Like with Lovers, Boyfriend and Girlfriend, Each Other's True Heart's Desire…"

"Not funny," Sokka growled, his eyebrow twitching as the earthbender laughed.

"Relax, Sokka, if anything you should be happy we even think she's within your league, right?" she said. He actually frowned at that.

"Wait, you guys really do?" he asked. Azula snorted.

"You'd need to start taking baths on a daily basis if you wanted to be, but I'm quite certain that will never happen…"

"H-hey! I do bathe on a daily basis!" Sokka squeaked, blushing again.

"Oh, you certainly do. Your sleeping bag's eternal stench proves as much," she said, raising her eyebrows as she sipped her drink. Sokka pouted.

"Never did I think I'd meet someone who likes sarcasm as much as I do," he grunted, before following her lead. The others grew easily distracted with other conversations, and it carried on that way as they waited for the food to arrive.

They parted ways once the meal was over, but Azula and Sokka stayed together, as always. They took off to the cavalry battle's grounds, despite they still had around an hour to kill before the match began. Most people would choose to kill said time by spending time sightseeing, watching other competitions or seeking out their friends since that they had a chance to reunite with them… and yet all Sokka and Azula craved was a chance to be by themselves if they could get away with it.

Yet the open stadium where the cavalry battle would take place was slightly more crowded than they expected it to be. Other teams were already there, flexing and readying themselves for the competition.

"I guess we won't be all alone, huh?" Sokka whispered. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Were you hoping we would be? Why's that?" she asked, smirking. Sokka blushed.

"You know why," he muttered. She smiled and took her seat at the empty stands, as she watched an Earth Kingdom team stretching at the opposite end of the field. "Uh, about what my dad said earlier, I hope you're okay with it…"

"With becoming his daughter-in-law, you mean?"

"T-that's not what I…! I mean…! I-I mean, that you're okay despite he said it. I figure how awkward it must have been for you, and…"

"Huh, so I cannot expect to become his daughter-in-law, then? Well, I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes high…"

"What the…? N-no! I-I mean… it's not that you can't expect it! Although, d-do you even want to be? I mean, heh, you… you realize you're talking about marriage here, right?"

"Ah, I do. Such tedious business that is, huh?" she said, sighing and shaking her head. Sokka swallowed hard and took his seat beside her.

"Sounds bad to you because of your parents, huh?"

"When that's the best example you have of what marriage is like, it's not easy to have a favorable opinion of it," said Azula. "I suppose you must disagree, your family wasn't bound to be as messed-up as my own, but…"

"It wasn't, that's for sure," said Sokka. "Though dad certainly had it hard to woo mom. But after that they had a pretty good marriage, I think. I never heard or saw otherwise."

"Well, that's lucky," said Azula. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"You don't hope to get that lucky too one day? I mean… with someone?" he asked, trying not to blush. Azula snorted.

"As if. Don't believe Zuko when he repeats my father's words, the last decade has proven I was not born lucky at all," she said. "And I really don't have hopes to find someone with whom I can live in harmony or so. Frankly that just sounds… boring."

"Heh, so you want no relationship like Katara and Aang's?" Sokka asked, smirking. Azula laughed.

"Absolutely not. The mere idea makes me sick," she said. Sokka chuckled.

"See, that's why I like you. We have very similar thought patterns," he said, stretching back and resting against the stands where they sat.

"Though we're not that similar in all regards," Azula commented. "Just comparing where we've come from proves we're as different as can be."

"And yet we both think my sister and Aang's marriage is annoying. So there you go, it's not that farfetched to think we're alike!" Sokka declared. Azula chuckled.

"Well, I mostly meant to say that I don't really want to have a relationship like theirs. But wouldn't you want something like what they have, if just so you can annoy your sister in return?"

"Uh… not exactly like it, though," said Sokka, frowning. "I mean, would I like to get married one day? Sure, but I may need a bit more spice in my life than what they have, just saying…"

"Spice. Funny wording," said Azula, smiling before glancing at him with uncertainty. He was frowning still. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, just… I guess I had two relationships that were each what I wanted and what I didn't want at the same time, you know?" he said, scratching his head. "With Yue I was… well, head-over-heels, really. But there was no stability, we couldn't possibly stay together and then she… she became the Moon Spirit, so that was that. With Suki, though, there was all the stability I'd never have with Yue, and yet… and yet I never felt the same urgency to be around her as I did with Yue. Which is probably why that failed like it did…"

"Are you over it?" Azula asked. "You hardly ever talk about it, so…"

"Honestly? I think I am," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly. "I thought I might react when I saw her with Zuko now, but… I didn't feel jealous. Somehow all I could think is that they fit better together than she and I ever did."

"Possibly. She seems to be the only person on the face of the earth who could tolerate my brother's tantrums," said Azula, with a smirk. Sokka chuckled. "Still, I didn't mean just about Suki. I also meant Yue, since… since you always stay up late in full moon nights. Does she pay you visits, or…?"

"Oh, no. I only ever saw her spirit once, in this crazy swamp in the Earth Kingdom. Gives everyone crazy visions about their past or their future… it's a pretty weird place with hideous creatures and a tribe of swampbenders who have the weirdest eating habits I've seen. We should go there sometime!"

"Sounds like yet another of your Team Avatar memorable locations that I'd rather never travel to," said Azula, smirking. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"What, like the Cave of Two Lovers? Come on, Azula, we totally should go there one day. It's probably our best chance to actually be alone, and hey, if the badgermoles try to kill us I can sing to them and they'll calm down!"

"They what?" Azula said, her eyes widening. "They calm down over your singing voice? Are you kidding me? Are they deaf on top of blind?"

"What the…? Hey! That's mean!" Sokka pouted, Azula gave him a meaningful stare "Plus, your surprise isn't that they might kill us, but that my singing soothes them?"

"Sokka, your singing voice is awful," she said, smirking. "Just remembering that one time I walked into your room at the inn and you were bathing and singing… the spirits know my hearing was permanently damaged by that."

"Not true!" Sokka exclaimed, as Azula laughed. "Laugh all you want, and tell everyone your crazy exaggerated version of the story if you want, but it's still not true!"

"You know they believed me. Every last one of them," she said, smirking. Sokka huffed.

"Yeah, sure they did. Unfair Princess…" he grumbled, as she chuckled still.

They stayed silent briefly, as Azula pondered whether to ask him a few questions or not. Wouldn't he rather continue talking about fond memories…? It seemed likely to her that he would. Questioning him about whether or not he was interested in new relationships after his previous failures didn't seem wise, but the thoughts lingered on her mind all the same…

"But yeah, either way, I wouldn't say I'm over Yue," he said, bringing back the topic on his own. Azula swallowed. "Not in the sense you might expect me to be. I'll always care for her, is what I'm saying, and… and she'll always be important to me, whether she's keeping an eye on me or not. I'd hope she is, but she's a spiritual being now, after all…"

"At the very least she's more likely to keep one on you than on Hahn, right?" Azula asked. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, that's probably why he's so angry," he said, chuckling. "We never got along, him and me. He acted like Yue was just… a position to gain rather than a wife to care for. He rambled on about the political complexities of his people, and all I got from that was that he didn't give a damn about her, not for real. She was gone before they could marry, though, so his chances to become a royal disappeared with her. I guess he holds me responsible because I'd been tasked with protecting her, and I failed to keep her alive. Her father knew it was her destiny, and he accepts that, but Hahn refuses to do it simply because he couldn't tie the knot before she had to fulfill it. It's… sickening, really. I hate that guy."

"And he hates you," said Azula. "Quite an equal relationship you have, really."

"He's hell-bent on winning against me now, I think," said Sokka. "He got all cocky and rubbed in my face that he was the best spear-thrower in the world, saying that I'd better watch my back in that competition… I can't wait for a Fire Nation soldier to beat him at it, seriously."

"That'd be quite amusing," said Azula, smiling. "Do you think he'll join the cavalry battle?"

"What, Hahn? Heck, no," said Sokka, smirking. "I can't even imagine him going through the trouble of lifting someone else above him. There's no way he'd be part of this."

"So I can expect you to focus on fighting my team, then?" Azula asked. Sokka chuckled.

"I'll try, but I might go for Toph's first," he said. "She's likely going to be an easy target, but hey, she insisted she wanted to join the cavalry battle, so…"

"It will be rather amusing to watch her struggle with figuring out her bearings while being carried that way," said Azula, smirking. "The winner is whoever takes the most headbands, right?"

"Yup. So watch out for yours, Princess," said Sokka, smirking as well. "Katara might just want to steal yours even before we get Toph's."

"I'll brace myself," said Azula, shrugging. "Though I wonder how much of a threat your team can be…"

"I only wonder if things will go weirdly for us again," said Sokka, laughing softly. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that if we get pitted against one another in competitions things just won't go well for either one of us."

"Well, whatever gave you that idea …?" Azula said, sarcastically. "We just got singled out of a martial arts tournament in the most foolish of ways, that's not such a big deal…"

"Certainly not," said Sokka, smiling. "I've just wondered what's going to happen when we go against one another again, though. I do hope we survive it in one piece."

"What, both of us in one same piece? How do you propose we do that?" Azula said, smirking until she noticed Sokka blushing, his eyes wide. "Oh, curses, you… for a man who's been chaste for years you have the filthiest mind I've encountered."

"Don't you think that's probably the reason it's so filthy?" said Sokka, chuckling. Azula smiled.

"It really must be," she said. "You should have done what I did, though. You didn't have to stay dry for so long."

"I didn't really feel like doing anything else," said Sokka, shrugging. "And while there might be something fun to having one-night-stands, they're really not my thing as they were yours, you know."

"Your loss," said Azula, smirking. "Though I haven't done that in quite some time now…"

"Yeah, I… I've noticed," said Sokka, with a small smile. Azula shrugged.

"Either way, we're not going to wind up stuck to one another in any way, Sokka," she said, looking at him meaningfully. "You're supposed to fight my cavalry while I fight your sister, remember?"

"I'll try to keep that in mind," said Sokka, smiling awkwardly. "But I can't say I won't try to go for you myself just for the sake of reprising our fun from the other day…"

"Which part of it? The one where you groped me?" she asked. Sokka bit his lip.

"Well, if you want…"

"At times I think you couldn't possibly be more shameless, and yet you prove me wrong without fail," said Azula, smirking. "Baffles me how you do it, but you certainly do it, huh?"

The shameless warrior smiled and scratched the back of his head. Azula grinned back before shaking her head and breathing deeply. Sokka bit his lip, looking at her with uncertainty.

"So, anyways, about what happened back at the restaurant…" he said. Azula raised her eyebrows. "We both denied what was happening, but I don't think Toph, Aang or my dad are convinced. Still… should we keep things a secret, or should we…?"

"Tell everyone and bask in their horrified reactions over our relationship?" Azula asked, with a smirk, before laughing and shaking her head. "Considering we don't really know what we're doing yet, there's probably no point to telling anyone about anything, Sokka. Kissing has been fun, but…"

"But it doesn't have to mean there's a real relationship between us yet? Geez, you princesses are seriously complicated," said Sokka, smiling. "Yue kissed me and told me she was engaged to someone else, you kiss me and then claim that doesn't have to mean we're really together… how's a guy supposed to go through life with so many mixed signals, eh?"

"By being smart about reading them," said Azula, smirking. "You keep talking about how smart you are, well, think about why I don't dare assume we're together yet. You have three guesses."

"Just three? Damn," said Sokka, gulping. "Okay, uh… you would be embarrassed if people heard you're with a guy like me."

"Wrong. Two chances left."

"What, wrong?! Y-you wouldn't be?" Sokka asked, his eyes wide. Azula blushed.

"Focus, Sokka. Two more guesses to go."

"Uh, sure then," he said, blinking blankly before rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "Eh, is it what we said at first? Your parents damaged your perception of what a romantic relationship is like, so…?"

"My parents damaged my perception of marriage, not romance. I've seen enough romance out there between enough people to know that sometimes, miraculously, it pays off. Like it did with your sister and her Avatar, boring as they might be."

"Oh. S-so just one shot left?"

"That's right," said Azula, smirking.

"Uh, well…" he said, breathing deeply. He had to think. What were Azula's possible fears about this? What could she be uncertain of?

If he thought about it, there were countless reasons why they should be uncertain of telling others about their relationship, but eventually they all seemed to come back to the same thing. He frowned before looking at her, biting his lip.

"You don't know how well it'll go, and you're thinking things might backfire between us," he said. "And if everyone knew, they'd be asking questions all the time, as they already do when they tell me all about how Suki and I were great together, asking why on earth didn't it work out… So you don't want that to happen with us."

"Close enough," said Azula, sighing. "I guess the main problem isn't so much about how much they'd harass us over why it didn't work out, or how they'd tell us that it was obvious it'd never pay off… but just knowing that there's a chance it might not work is foreboding enough. I won't dare make any assumptions about this until… until I have some sort of assurance, I guess, that we won't end up in a bad place if things go sideways."

"Well, as long as we respect each other fully and don't act like idiots, I think we'll be able to accept it if it didn't work," Sokka said. "It's just a matter of maturity, right? And as we both know, we're the mature siblings of our families, right?"

"Right," said Azula, with a smirk.

She couldn't help but remember that their first good conversation, the one where they began bonding, was precisely over realizing that they were the better siblings in their respective families. The ones with the senses of humor, the less dramatic ones, the more cold-blooded ones – if that counted as a good thing, of course, which it did according to them –, the tacticians, the overlooked ones. She still remembered how he'd given her an unexpected smile of complicity, and despite herself, her heart had jolted at the sight. At the time she had been surprised because she had never expected to forge a bond with him, of any kind. She had only wondered if it meant they were on their way to becoming friends.

Yet as time went by, her heart started jumping in different ways whenever he laughed at her jokes, joined in with his puns, talked to her about his memories and confessed truths he'd always kept deeply buried in his heart. She had been shocked to hear that the only one he had ever spoken to about Yue was her… and yet it was true, for she knew he wouldn't lie about something like that. His lies were usually so ridiculously easy to pinpoint she had often teased him about giving him lying lessons, since he needed them direly. He had somehow taken it as a compliment, and Azula guessed it'd be better not to bother correcting him.

"So, if it's that you're worried about, it's alright," said Sokka, clasping his knee with his hands before leaning back, staring up into the clear blue sky above. "I'll live if you dump me. As Toph said, it's surprising enough that they thought we're in the same league, to begin with, so…"

"If I dump you? And how about if it's the other way around?" Azula asked. Sokka snorted.

"Like I'd ever," he said. "You don't really think I'd…"

"Well, there's a lot of relationships I've had that I never thought would backfire on me, and yet they did. In fact, most of them have," she said, clenching her jaw. "And none of those were romantic, to begin with. So as you might imagine…"

"You don't know if you can trust in things working out between us because of all that?" Sokka asked, gulping. "You think I'll be the one to back down on you?"

"You wouldn't be the first. Likely not the last either," said Azula, lowering her gaze. Curses, how had the conversation grown so dark so suddenly?

"Huh. Well, I get it now," said Sokka, frowning. "And I guess it doesn't matter if I say that I won't do that, you'll still dread that I'll change my mind at some point, right?"

"You might meet someone who's everything you never knew you wanted, or so," said Azula, shrugging. "I wouldn't want to get in your way with that…"

"Oh, you wouldn't? That's good to hear," said Sokka, smiling. "See, I already did meet someone who's pretty much all I never knew I wanted, despite we didn't start off in the best of ways… but after spending four years with her things have changed for the better quite drastically, you know?"

"Come on. I mean it," said Azula. Sokka sighed.

"So do I, even if you might not believe it," he said, hunching over, his forearms resting on his knees. "All in all, Azula, I just want you to be happy. If I'm not the one who can make you happy, I'll deal with it and try to move on yet again. But if I were, I…"

"If you were, what would you do?" Azula asked, her breath hitching. Sokka bit his lip.

"Well… I'd try my best to keep you happy, heh. I'd try to give you nice gifts but I know you already have most anything you could ask for… but that wouldn't stop me from trying either way, you know."

"Stubborn as ever, aren't we?" said Azula, smiling.

"I'd take you to great places, too!" Sokka declared. "Like all the places you said you don't want to go to… but there's also other nice ones I haven't even mentioned and that I'm sure you'd like!"

"Like the Library that sank into the Si Wong Desert, the one with a crazed human-hating owl spirit?" Azula asked, smirking. Sokka cringed.

"Okay, yeah, not that one but there's other places we could see! Lots of them!" Sokka said "And… I'd do my best to leave the best food for you."

"Wow, that'd certainly be a sacrifice for you," said Azula, smiling. She couldn't help but be warmed by his promise, though, mostly because he had been fulfilling that one for quite some time already. Nevertheless, she had to tease him for it, and Sokka blushed and pouted.

"Well, if you don't believe it yet you'll see later on!" said Sokka, proudly. "Ah, and we can spar as often as you like, and stay up late watching the stars and…!"

"Here I thought you'd hope we'd stay up late doing other things," said Azula, smirking. Sokka blushed.

"O-only if you'd like to," he said, gulping. Azula's smile softened.

"To be perfectly honest, Sokka…" she said. "I expected offers with more grandeur than that."

"I… I know. I'm sorry, I just need more time to think about ideas and…"

"Because you see, you're always trying to take me to places you visited before because you think it'd be fun. I know for a fact that you've sacrificed some of the better food in our journeys so that I can have it instead. We do stay up stargazing quite often, and we spar all the time, don't we?"

"E-eh… yeah, I guess that's true," said Sokka, grimacing. "So I have literally offered you the same things we already have. Smooth."

"It's probably smoother than you think," Azula whispered. "All it means is that… that you're not offering you'll be a better man if I become yours. You're already doing your best, whether I am or not. It's… it's moving, in a sense."

Sokka swallowed hard and Azula smiled, avoiding his gaze.

"I suppose the only change would be that we'd do things we don't yet, right?" she asked. "You'd be allowed to grope me, you pervert…"

"I-I won't do it if you don't want me to," Sokka said, pouting and looking away. Azula laughed.

"Might be I'll want you to. But for now I'll just make fun of you," she said, before stretching out a hand and reaching for his.

Sokka bit his lip and looked at her. There were unusual sights in their world, and Azula's heartfelt smile was one of them. He felt his throat drying as he felt the urge to kiss her again, yet before he could make up his mind to either move in or stay still, the Princess was leaning towards him, her forehead pressed against his.

They had well forgotten all about the potential onlookers as they kissed, though the sudden silence in the field served to alert them that they were most likely being watched. Azula pulled away, feeling awfully self-conscious, but Sokka held her hand all the same, a smile on his face as his cheeks remained flushed.

Azula's eyes shifted towards where the now silent people were, and Sokka turned as well to realize they were indeed giggling and watching them with interest. To his chagrin, Haru was there. He smiled shyly and gave Sokka a thumbs-up, to which Sokka answered with an embarrassed smile. Azula sighed.

"We really should just do this when we're alone," she said, swallowing hard and pulling away, to his disappointment. "Anyways, whatever it is we are now, we have a fight to undertake now, and we'd do best not to lose focus for it, right?"

"Yeah. But afterwards we could, I don't know, go out and get something to drink?" he asked, biting his lip. Azula smiled apologetically.

"My uncle and brother insisted I went to the Palace tonight. It seems they want to celebrate the Fire Nation's first gold medal, so…"

"Eh. Can I go too, then?" Sokka asked, smiling. "I'd like some Palace food myself…"

"Who knows. You'll have to ask Zuko, or just sneak inside wearing a disguise," she said, smirking. "He might want to celebrate with the Fire Nation delegation alone, you know…"

"Really? That's not very logical, these events are about nation cooperation, but… oh well," said Sokka, shrugging. "We'll find a way to be alone eventually, won't we? They can't keep us apart forever!"

"Ask our respective siblings, I'm positive they'd love to give it a try," said Azula, smiling. "But we're smarter than them for sure. We can get away with this if we try hard enough to do so."

"Yeah," said Sokka, smiling as they heard footsteps approaching the field. "But for now…"

"For now we're enemies. Again," said Azula, winking at him. "Good luck beating the Fire Nation's teams this time, Sokka."

"Good luck to you beating us!" he said. She laughed softly as she approached the three men who would join her for the cavalry battle, who had only just arrived at the field.

It was around thirty minutes later that the cavalry battle was finally ready to begin. The teams of four were comprised by three men and one woman. The men would form the 'horse', by lifting the woman through a triangular formation, and they would have to run in the direction of other teams so that the women, or 'riders', would steal the headbands around the heads of the other riders, knocking them out of the competition as they did. The competition would end once all the teams were taken out, and the winners would be decided depending on the number of headbands each rider had stolen. Whoever had the most headbands would be the winner.

Sokka was joined by Katara, Haka and Kattan; the last two were other Southern Water Tribe competitors. Azula's team was comprised by herself and the three guards she had mentioned: Rui Shi, Tai Wei and Fei Li. Toph had managed to convince the Duke, the Dark One and Ho Tun to be on her team. The Duke's friends, Longshot, Smellerbee, Sneers and Pipsqueak, had joined together in another Earth Kingdom team, while Kori Morishita had joined other Fire Nation colonials in her own Fire Nation team.

"This competition sounds like so much fun," Aang sighed, looking on at it with disappointment. Suki smiled next to him.

"I would have liked to join too, honestly, but we made the mistake to forget to invite any Kyoshi Island men to join us," she said, chuckling.

"It's just the Kyoshi Warriors?" Aang asked. She nodded.

"Except for Ty Lee, who's in the Fire Nation team, of course," she said.

She jerked her head towards Ty Lee, who stood in the field, already being lifted by three burly men while others pouted, disappointed that she hadn't chosen them for the job. The chi-blocker's popularity had not dimmed at all with time.

"There's more Fire Nation teams this time than in previous events," Zuko commented, swallowing hard as the three of them took their seats at the stands. "I only hope that it means we'll get one of the medals…"

"You have a lot of great competitors there," said Suki, reassuringly. "I know you're worried Azula will blow it like she did in the martial arts one, but surely she'll be more careful now…"

"Let's hope so," said Zuko, sighing. Suki smiled and clasped his hand.

"I just wish I could be out there too…" Aang sighed again, as the other Heads of State arrived and took their seats to watch the new event.

"We'll have to arrange something to allow you into team events next time," said Suki. Zuko cringed.

"Next time?" he asked. Suki smiled.

"Come on, it's been fun, right?"

"I beg to differ…" said Zuko, his eyes wide as Piandao walked into the field.

He started organizing the teams, setting them to start in different corners of the stadium. He would not be in the fighting grounds, or else he'd risk getting trampled by the teams, but he was still set to keep an eye on the non-bending competition either way. He was not happy over this arrangement even now, but he had survived several non-bending competitions with benders as it was. Surely he could do it again now.

"Are you ready?" he asked, from the edge of the field.

A few people answered with nods. The 'horses' were already formed, and the riders stood in place. Toph Beifong, in particular, seemed to be regretting this arrangement just now as she realized she couldn't possibly sense anything other than the bodies of her friends while she was being lifted. But it was too late to back down now, and even if it wasn't, she wouldn't have done it anyways. She was going to work her hardest to take those headbands no matter what.

Azula's eyes found Sokka's at opposite ends of the field. Instead of focusing on his sister, she could only look at him. She smiled and nodded in his direction. Sokka, the head of the Southern Water Tribe horse, grinned back and nodded in response. This event would be certain chaos, but they were determined to see it to the end just like everyone else was.

"Set…!" Piandao shouted. "Go!"


	3. Game 3: Song

The tune's melodious sounds filled the stadium; the drums resounded loudly while accompanying the rest of the instruments. Azula stood with her back straight, her eyes set on the Fire Nation emblem as it danced with the wind, red and black contrasting against the blue and white in the clear sky.

Her opponent, Rui Shi, stood beside her. He watched the flag with the same solemnity Azula did, but she could sense his unease and nervousness regardless. He was worried about the result of the match, despite they both knew already just what it would be. The man was a powerful bender, but nobody in the firebending category could hold a torch to Azula's abilities. Her mind was set on winning, and she hoped to do it as quickly as possible. Because as it happened…

Not two blocks away, the noisy crowd for the finals in the swordsmanship tournament wasn't loud enough to keep Sokka from hearing the sound of the Fire Nation anthem only a couple of blocks away. His eyes widened. No, it was starting already? He had wanted to be there! Azula would be fighting her own finals now, in the most important of the firebending events… and he was stuck here, unable to give her his support because their schedules kept clashing. To think that they were both in the finals for their favored events, yet couldn't go support each other…

"Ugh, can you guys hurry up over there?!" Sokka groaned, looking over at his opponent.

Zuko was standing only inches away from Suki, whispering something to her while she prepared for the combat, her katana in her waist. What on earth was the matter with them? Couldn't they wrap it up so that he could fight Suki and rush to see Azula before her fight was over?

"Give them time," Piandao said, as Sokka sulked. "The fight will begin when both competitors are ready. Be patient, Sokka."

"But Master…" Sokka complained, looking at him hopelessly. Piandao smiled.

"You needn't worry. She'll do fine," he said. Sokka blushed and sighed.

"I hope so," he whispered. Trying to cover up the truth behind his impatience would be pointless, he knew as much. As it was, he had the feeling that everyone knew, or at least suspected, what his relationship with Azula was becoming as of late.

Yet there was nothing to be done about the fight's delay, not while the Fire Lord stood before his bodyguard and girlfriend, staring at her in worry as she readied herself for battle.

"You can relax, Zuko," she said, smiling as she finished fitting her armguard. "I'll be okay. Sokka is good but he's not that good."

"It's not Sokka I'm worried about, it's his sword," said Zuko, scowling as he looked at the Water Tribesman from the corner of his eyes. "You know what sort of crazy things he's done with it, don't you?"

"I know, I know. It's the sharpest sword in the world, but my sword isn't half bad either," said Suki. "I can do this, Zuko. Trust me."

"You know I do," said Zuko, sighing. "Just… be alright, okay? I don't want you to get hurt…"

"I won't, silly," she said, beaming and cupping his face before kissing him lightly. "I'll do my best, and I'll try to get the gold, too."

"I hope you can," said Zuko, smiling as Suki pulled away and walked towards the enclosure where the fight would take place.

Zuko had thought, initially, that he would attend the firebending finals where his sister was currently fighting. Yet when Suki made it into the swordsmanship finals he had asked Iroh to watch over Azula himself, while he attended Suki's fight instead. A lot of people had given him odd stares, seeing how there were no Fire Nation contestants in this final fight, but he had done his best to ignore them as he focused on supporting Suki.

They had been together for only a few months, although they had spent years working together before that. Rumors about romance sparking between them had been spread ages before they had started dating for good, though. He had thought that all that gossip would have prepared people to see him so concerned over the Kyoshi Island competitor's performances, but it seemed people were still surprised seeing the Fire Lord as worried about a foreigner as he was. He would try his hardest not to pay any mind to it, though. He knew better than to be swayed by the public's opinion too easily.

Sokka sighed as Suki finally arrived. She smiled at him and he reached for his sword.

"Finally, we can get this…" he started, but Piandao lifted a hand.

"These are the swordsmanship finals. You know what it means," he said. Sokka's eyebrow twitched.

"Y-you don't mean…"

A group of musicians Sokka hadn't noticed in the stands started playing their instruments, and he cringed as the songs of the Southern Water Tribe and Kyoshi Island played one after the other, in the solemn ceremony preceding such an important match between the two representatives. His eyebrow twitched as he realized the Fire Nation song had ended long ago as it was. She was already fighting, damn it, and he hadn't even started…

The heat was building up in the firebending stadium, as Azula deflected the Royal Guard's attack skillfully, amid the cheers of the crowd. Rui Shi was ruthless with his attacks because he knew that giving her a single chance to strike would be one too many. The Princess was well known as the best firebender alive, and she wasn't likely to lose today. She meant to shine in this competition, and regardless of Rui Shi's attempts to overwhelm her, she wouldn't waver against him.

She had started by deflecting the blasts with ease, sweeping the fire away with her elegant movements, but once Rui Shi's fire grew slightly more unstable she took her chances to bend his flames right back at him. The Royal Guard flinched as he realized she was playing with him. He had guessed he wouldn't win from the start, but the gravity of the situation was only becoming apparent now as he watched his fire turning blue in her hands. Well, the silver medal would be a great honor, no doubt…

Yet as Rui Shi stopped bending briefly, bracing himself for Azula's counterattack, sounds drifted into the stadium. Azula's eyes widened. Was that the Southern Water Tribe's anthem…?

Curse it, she had to finish this now! She had planned on being there to watch Sokka's fight, yet she was still caught up here instead of roasting the Royal Guard when she had a chance. What a fool!

Rui Shi jumped back as the blue fire came hard upon him. It was his turn now to defend while the ferocious Princess attacked relentlessly, her mind and heart drifting towards a fight taking place at a nearby stadium instead…

"I want a fair fight from the both of you," Piandao said, eyeing Sokka and Suki warily. "No foul play whatsoever. And I know you two have history, so…"

"No worries, there's no hard feelings altogether, none whatsoever, so can we just…?" Sokka said, gritting his teeth as Piandao looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Suki looked at Sokka with confusion too as she watched him fidget. What was up with him? Well, whatever it was, clearly he wasn't on his best state of mind for a fight, was he? She smirked and took her stance in her side of the fighting ring. Piandao breathed out and lifted a hand between them.

"Ready?" he asked. Sokka and Suki nodded. "Start!"

The swords clashed loudly as Sokka jumped forward. Suki inched away, now uncertain of her assessment of Sokka's mental state. Did his eagerness to be through with this fight make him more dangerous, or did it mean he wouldn't focus properly? As he slammed his sword on hers repeatedly, forcing her to step back, she started to think it was the former. She flinched before swinging the sword horizontally, forcing Sokka to jump back to evade her, and now she stepped forward to avoid being pressed against the ring's enclosure.

"Well, what's up with you? Didn't you say there were no hard feelings?" Suki asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka blushed.

"There aren't but I've got things to do!" he said, attacking again. Suki parried the sword.

"What could be more important than this?" Suki asked, looking at him in confusion as she wrestled him off by swinging her sword powerfully, forcing Sokka away again.

"Y-you….! You wouldn't understand!" Sokka pouted, reaching to attack once more.

Suki frowned but she defended herself again and moved out of Sokka's way. If this was how it'd be, fine by her. Sokka could carry on being reckless, she'd likely find a proper chance to strike him down if he kept this up… though she was undoubtedly curious as to what was he so eager to get away for. One would think that these Games, unique as they were, would be a priority for the Water Tribesman, but it seemed Suki didn't know Sokka as well as she used to…

The barrage of blue fire was tireless, rushing through the air in different forms and shapes, but all of it directed towards the same place. Rui Shi blocked however he could, but there was just no contest altogether. He couldn't win, tried as though he might. The Princess's skill was unquestionable, and somehow she seemed more desperate to fight now than she had at first. She was somewhat reckless, though… that was unexpected. Her mind was set on victory for sure, yet her defense wasn't quite as firm as he would have thought it would be. Why, though?

He frowned as she brought forth a wheel of fire, potent and larger than any he had seen before… but her defenses would be down once she had finished casting it. If his calculations were correct, that was the opening he should reach for…

A stumble. One stab too far: his stance was wide open. Suki's eyes widened as she realized this was it. She had to make the most of the opportunity now, when Sokka's lethal sword had slipped past her. It was now or never.

One hand shot out, casting orange flames right past the blue ones.

A silver sword slid through the air, through an opening that led directly towards the rival's chest.

A step back, jumping away from the danger. Crouching quickly, to avoid potentially lethal blows.

Both the blue firebender and the swordsman with the black blade shifted in their movements in the exact same way, taunting their opponents and drawing them into a trap they hadn't foreseen.

A punch of fire struck Rui Shi in the chest.

The black sword cut through the katana's steel swiftly, leaving Suki holding only a hilt in her hand.

The crowds erupted in cheers at the same time, the sound loud enough to keep both the winners from hearing what was happening at the other stadium. Azula breathed out in relief as she delivered the winning hit flawlessly, destroying her opponent's defenses and leaving him lying on his back, his will to fight completely obliterated. It was over.

"The winner is Princess Azula," Jeong Jeong declared, and she allowed herself a smirk before waving at the audience. Her uncle clapped happily, hooting with glee.

"Well done! That's my niece!" he shouted. Azula raised an eyebrow as she stared at him skeptically, but she smiled as her opponent was helped up to his feet by Jeong Jeong.

"Thank you for the fight," said Rui Shi, bowing down to her. Azula bowed her head curtly as well.

"Thank you as well. You did fine," she said.

"Not as well as you did," said Rui Shi, grinning. "You truly are extraordinary."

"Why, that's flattering, and I'd love to hear more but…" she said, glancing away to where she knew the swordsmanship tournament was ending. "I will hear it later, alright? I need to…"

"It's time for the medal ceremony," Jeong Jeong, staring at her in confusion as Azula stepped away. "What are you trying to do, Princess?"

"It's something quick, I'll be back shortly," she said. Jeong Jeong frowned.

"This will be over shortly, too," he said. Azula cringed.

"And it can wait, also. Give me a moment, prepare the ceremony, I'll be back here before you know it," she said, climbing down the fighting platform without another word.

Jeong Jeong and Rui Shi looked at each other in confusion. The White Lotus firebender also glanced at the Fire Lord's Uncle, who seemed just as puzzled by his niece's behavior as everyone else was. What was so important that she'd leave before she'd been awarded the gold medal she had earned fair and square?

"No, no, no, I have to go now!" Sokka complained, as Water Tribe people rushed down from the stands to cheer him for his performance. "Thanks, seriously, but…! I really have to go!"

"What exactly is up with him?" Suki asked, rubbing her hand as Zuko surrounded her shoulders with an arm. Piandao sighed.

"He has someone to see, from the looks of it," he said, smiling. "Shall we wait for him to be finished with that before we hold the medal ceremony?"

"I guess?" said Suki, raising an eyebrow. Zuko frowned.

"If he's going to leave now, Suki should take the gold. He's showing disrespect to his prize!"

"Sokka won fairly, Fire Lord Zuko," said Piandao, amused. "It would be dishonorable to take away his medal after all his hard work to achieve this level of success. Not to mention he was patient and waited until Lady Suki was ready to fight, regardless of how eager he was to take off from the get-go…"

Zuko grimaced at Piandao's words, knowing the man was right, but too bitter about Suki's loss to admit it aloud. Suki smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I'm fine with the silver, stop worrying. Sokka is a force to be reckoned with when he's got Space Sword, that's for sure," she said. "Maybe if he'd had a normal sword I wouldn't have been out of the fight so easily."

"You should have won…" Zuko mumbled, as Suki giggled.

"I've beaten him in other events," she said. "He didn't pass the quarterfinals in judo after crossing paths with me, after all. And I took gold there, too. So we're even, I guess."

"I guess," Zuko sighed.

Sokka thanked people rather nervously as he made his way through them, only waving at his father, sister and friends before finally detaching from the crowd that had been holding him back. He started running once he had a chance, and he left the non-bending facility in a heartbeat. He had to go, he had to get there now, he couldn't miss watching her win, not when he had beaten Suki as quickly as he had. He just had to make it…

He took a sharp turn, halfway to the firebending stadium, when he saw someone running in the opposite direction, only a few feet away from him. His eyes widened as he slowed to a halt, but she kept running, her eyes only raising when she as good as ran into him.

"Sokka?!" Azula exclaimed, as she wound up in his arms. He was panting, looking at her in surprise.

"A-A… Azula?" he said, sweat rolling down his forehead, holding her close still. "Y-you…?"

"Did you finish already? Sokka…?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.

"I… I did, I won, I… wait, but you? How did it go? If it didn't start yet I could…!"

"You… you were coming all this way to watch me?" she asked, a slow smile spreading over her face. Sokka swallowed hard.

"Am I too late?" he asked. She laughed and nodded.

"So was I," she said, lowering her gaze. "I was on my way to…"

"To watch me, too?" Sokka said, smiling. Azula looked at him guiltily.

"I won as well, if that was worrying you. I just heard that song and knew your fight was starting, so…"

"So you tried to finish it off as quickly as you could," said Sokka, chuckling and caressing her face. "And once you did, you were going to run to the stadium to cheer me on. Isn't that right?"

"And you were doing the exact same thing, weren't you?" Azula asked, smiling. Sokka laughed and pressed his forehead to hers.

"We're hopeless, aren't we?" he said, as they both laughed and held each other.

"I'm glad you made it, though. Congratulations," she said, smiling and hugging him.

"Congratulations to you too!" he said, embracing her so tightly he lifted her from the ground. Azula laughed as he twirled them, kissing her cheek. "You're the best firebender in the world!"

"And you're the best swordsman, no contest," she replied.

Sokka was leaning back slightly, his back arched as he lifted her comfortably in his arms. Azula beamed as she cupped his face, kissing his lips enthusiastically despite her mind warned her that Sokka might lose balance in such position. He kissed her back passionately though, ushering her to encircle his hips with her legs so he could hold her with further ease. They were both smiling still as they parted, looking into each other's eyes with unfathomable joy.

They decided to watch each other's medal ceremonies after all, walking back to the firebending stadium first, hand in hand until they entered the fighting area. Azula smiled and made her way to the podium, where Jeong Jeong waited with a judgmental look on his face.

"It was all because you wanted to bring him here?" he asked, as she stood behind the highest position of the podium. Azula shrugged, wishing her cheeks weren't flushing upon being questioned by her superior in the Order. "I know you two are partners, but you can spend an hour or two away from each other, can't you?"

"It was longer than that. I hadn't seen him at all today," said Azula, smirking a little. "So it was much longer than an hour or two, at any rate."

"And that's such a bad thing now, Princess?" said Jeong Jeong, raising an eyebrow. "I seem to remember you two kept complaining about each other when you began working together. I even recall petitions from the both of you to change partners…"

"Well, we keep complaining about each other even now, that's for sure," said Azula, smiling. "But we won't make such requests anymore. That's what has changed."

"Huh," said Jeong Jeong, glancing over at the Water Tribesman.

Sokka was standing by Iroh, chatting with him as they waited for the medals to be brought out for the ceremony. Upon noticing he was being watched he lifted his gaze in his direction, and he beamed before waving unexpectedly enthusiastically. Jeong Jeong wondered briefly if the swordsman truly thought he'd get a wave back… and then he realized he wasn't waving at him. He was waving, no doubt, at the Princess, who was smiling gently, her cheeks tinged red again.

"Oh dear," he muttered, swallowing hard. "That's all that changed, no doubt…"

Azula missed his words, focused as she was on Sokka's wide smile. Her chest burned at the sight, and all she could want was to run to kiss him again. Sure, the medal would be a great honor and it would bring her happiness all the same, but his wholehearted support meant so much to her that she could easily forget about the gold altogether.

She still laughed to herself as she realized they had both rushed their way to the other's competition, and she was still smiling in the same way as her Uncle presented the medals, in the Fire Lord's stead. Rui Shi and Tai Wei, the bronze medal winner, accepted their medals solemnly, and they smiled and waved at the crowd as they cheered for them. Yet as Iroh placed the golden medal around Azula's neck there was one voice that stood out amongst the rest.

"WOO! YOU'RE THE BEST! WAY TO GO, AZULA!" Sokka roared, prompting her to laugh softly. She tried to look at him disapprovingly, yet all she managed to show in her smile and eyes was fondness.

Everyone had to fall silent again as a new song was played to honor the triumph of the three athletes. And as he listened to the song, Iroh couldn't help but think that, in all his years of knowing his niece, he had never seen her smile quite like this. She would smirk with pride with every success she achieved, but this time she had not reacted as she often did. No doubt something was different about her now, and he could only suspect it was because of the young man she couldn't take her eyes off of. Even as the song carried on, she kept glancing at him, her smile widening whenever their gazes met.

Iroh raised an eyebrow and grinned, too. Well, he had not expected Azula to find in the Water Tribesman, but love could certainly bloom in some very surprising places…

Sokka rushed to Azula again once the ceremony was over, hugging her again and lifting her with ease. She told him to let her down, embarrassed to be watched by so many people, but she couldn't seem to stop smiling even then. Sokka grinned as she breathed deeply, staring at the golden flame emblazoned on her medal with utmost joy.

"It's a pretty one, huh?" said Sokka, as she raised her eyes to look at him.

"And you have to collect yours now, don't you?" said Azula. Sokka bit his lip.

"Woops. I hope they're not mad I kept them waiting so long," he said, chuckling. Azula smiled.

"Let's go," she said, urging him to follow her out to the non-bending fighting ring.

The swordsmanship ceremony would have to wait a little longer, though: just as they were leaving the firebending stadium, Sokka grabbed Azula's wrist and pulled her close to him. They turned around so she would wind up pressed against the wall, as his lips devoured hers most eagerly. Azula gasped and moaned under the power of his feverish kiss, his leg between hers as her arms slid around his neck. The tenderness from before was starting to take on a whole different nature, and she found the change very agreeable, despite it wasn't the best timing for this right now.

"Sokka…" she gasped, her hands sliding through his hair. "W-we've got to… to get to your ceremony…"

"Maybe… maybe someone else can pick up my medal for me?" he said, her forehead pressed to his. She smiled.

"Come on. There will be time for this later," she whispered, leaning close to kiss him again. "Let's go."

"Oww…" Sokka sighed, letting her lead him, her hand in his. He smiled, though, his fingers intertwining with hers as they hurried along to the non-bending grounds.

Zuko's patience had as good as run out by the time they arrived. Sokka apologized to everyone for his delay, smiling awkwardly over having disrupted the ceremony's schedule. That he would show up with Azula, though, raised all sorts of flags for the more observant people waiting for the ceremony.

"You took forever! Why couldn't you just wait until the ceremony was done and then run off?" Zuko snapped at Sokka. Azula huffed.

"Well, well. So here's the absentee Fire Lord, who did not grant me my gold medal because he'd rather watch his girlfriend lose her swords finals instead of doing his job?" said Azula, making Zuko's eyebrow twitch.

"If you had a relationship like this you would understand!" Zuko growled.

Azula held back the urge to say she actually understood better than he thought she did. A lot of people seemed to be able to draw conclusions from Sokka's sudden reappearance with Azula by his side, but Zuko wasn't one of them. He just scowled at his sister as Sokka approached Suki by the podium, looking at her apologetically as the third place, another Earth Kingdom representative, stood at his other side.

All things considered, Azula as well had held Sokka above a medal ceremony, much as Zuko had likely even forgotten about the firebending one over Suki. Azula's event wasn't quite as important as making sure Suki would be fine, and as it happened, that was just why Azula and Sokka had rushed through their fights quite desperately, wanting to watch each other's competitions to make sure all would go well for each other. The medals hadn't been at the forefront of anyone's thoughts in the slightest.

"So, you did what you had to do?" Suki asked. Sokka blushed but smiled.

"Yeah, I… I did, I guess. I mean, I was late either way, but it's all good," he said. Suki smiled back.

"I'm glad for you," she said. "Though… you've got her lipstick all over your face, just saying."

"I-I… crap," said Sokka, blushing harder as he tried to wipe the stains as unsuspiciously as possible. Suki giggled next to him.

"You're lucky it's not that noticeable, or else Zuko might have had a seizure," said Suki. Sokka pouted.

"Heh, I don't know if he would have understood what it meant either way…" he said, glancing over at Azula to find she was still smirking as she dismissed Zuko's rants about Sokka's tardiness carelessly

Sokka grinned and waved at her once he caught her gaze. Azula smiled, but Zuko took Sokka's gesture to be a slight against him. His eyebrow twitched and he shook his head. Not only had he crashed most the Fire Nation's celebration nights through the last week and a half, eating most the food and causing trouble left and right, but he had taken the gold in this competition and now waved at him as if to rub it all in his face?

All in all, Zuko's convictions remained in place: these Games were just no good at all.

The medals were granted to each competitor, and the crowd cheered enthusiastically as the athletes were granted the highest honors of their discipline. The song honoring the winners was played at this venue as well, and Sokka smiled through the tune as his gaze kept drifting towards Azula. His friends and family were there too, yet he couldn't help himself. Watching her standing there, her gold medal around her neck, smiling proudly at him, was a thrilling sight he couldn't possibly get enough of.

"Alright! That's your second gold medal, isn't it, Sokka?!" Hakoda exclaimed proudly, surrounding his son's neck with an arm and hugging him against his body, once the ceremony was over. Sokka chuckled.

"Damn right it is, dad," he said, smiling.

Suki as well held two gold medals, for judo and non-bending swimming, along with her bronze for free non-bending martial arts. All in all, they were fully tied in the medal ranking, since Sokka had a silver for the free accuracy event – his boomerang had failed to beat Mai's knives, despite he had somehow outdone Longshot's precise arrows –, and a bronze in spear-throwing. Hahn, Sokka's sworn enemy, didn't have any bronze medals, but his gold in spear-throwing certainly brought him close to the two top-ranked non-benders.

Nevertheless, Sokka wasn't thinking about the current standings in the competition. His eyes were on Azula again, as Aang asked her about the firebending finals – she had taken him out of the competition in the quarterfinals, and Aang had graciously accepted his loss while admitting he wasn't quite as masterful with fire as she was. He congratulated her for her success before being distracted by some question Katara was asking, which gave Sokka the opportunity to slip out of his father's grip and move towards Azula.

"Do you have to celebrate your golden win with your family today too, or…?" he asked, leaning close to her. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a more compelling proposal in mind?" she inquired, smirking. Sokka bit his lip.

"I think I asked you quite a few days ago if we could just go out to drink something… still haven't done it, have we?" he asked. Azula smiled.

"I suppose I could give them the slip today. They might even be relieved if I disappear in the middle of the party, after all," she said. "What do you have in mind?"

"That inn I'm staying at, it has a pub of its own…" said Sokka, looking at her with uncertainty.

She breathed deeply, but he could sense she was about to smile all the same. He didn't have the most impure intent in mind, for sure, but if things got to that he certainly wouldn't complain. It was up to her if they would, though… and given how pleased she seemed by his proposal, she might just want it as badly as Sokka did.

"I'll stop by at the party for half an hour or so," she said. "I'll have to show up at least if I want to get them off my back. I'll go see you later, if that's alright."

"I'll wait for you," said Sokka, smiling too, his hand brushing hers.

She wanted to kiss him again right then and there, but it was ill-advised to do so in front of everyone. Not that it mattered that she held back, though, for only two people amid their group remained oblivious to the new quality the relationship between Azula and Sokka was gaining by now.

"I'll try not to make you wait too long, then," she said, caressing his fingers gently. He chuckled and she beamed.

Azula had chased victory and success for the most part of her life. Sokka had wanted the same as well, though perhaps not in the same way, not on the same measure. Yet by now all of it dimmed and paled next to the elation that was born from standing by each other's side, offering their whole-hearted support for one another as they succeeded in their own quests.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll be bumping up the rating now since I already know what's going to happen in upcoming chapters. Hope that's fine with you all!**


	4. Game 4: Wine

Time wasn't ticking fast enough for Sokka's taste, though it was his own fault for being ready half an hour earlier than he should have been. He had taken care to wash thoroughly, dressed up in his best clothes, fixed his hair as carefully as he could, and yet it was still too early for Azula to sneak out of her Fire Nation delegation party.

He had sighed and taken his seat on one of the pub's stools, looking around himself without much interest as members of different delegations gathered in the tavern. Everyone liked to cut loose after the events were finished, and this was a great place to do it even if the majority of them had their lodging elsewhere. This pub was located in Harbor City, which made it less costly and luxurious than the ones within the Capital's crater. Some athletes were staying at inns from Harbor City too, but the pub in this one was the most spacious one in the city, fitting around eighty people with ease. It made it an ideal place for groups of competitors to celebrate their successes or forget about their failures through drinking in a less public environment than in the Fire Nation Palace, where the local delegation hosted most their celebration parties.

The other nations' delegations, mainly because Kuei had demanded for accommodations of the highest quality, were welcome to stay in several luxurious villas owned by the Royal Family within the crater itself. Every delegation had their own parties, but it was much harder to relax under the eyes of a nation's ruler than it was to do so with close friends in a pub like this one.

Like some members of other delegations, Sokka had chosen to pay for an inn instead of joining the Southern Water Tribe's delegation in their villa. He hadn't wanted to be roommates with Aang, or have his room right next to Katara's, as it likely would have been if he had stayed with them. He was well aware that the two of them, promised to marry one another as they already were, would sneak around to spend the night together and they might keep him awake all night with their giggling and lovey-doveyness. He wasn't about to suffer through that, not at all.

That was the main reason he had avoided the villa, though there was no denying that he had also done it because he was used to his independence by now. All these years of traveling and procuring lodging for himself and Azula had taught him that paying for services on his own terms was always better, so long as he could afford it. And since he was earning a good wage with the Order, he was able to stay at this inn indeed, after all.

Azula had been compelled to do the same as he had, but perhaps due to their uncertainty regarding their relationship when the Games began, she had accepted Zuko's offer of letting her stay in the Palace during the event. Sokka smiled to himself, his gaze lost in the wooden counter of the pub as he thought of how things had changed so quickly between him and Azula…

He had been too reckless when he had seen those brigands with his sword, using it to threaten and terrorize Earth Kingdom townsfolk. His rational side had, uncharacteristically, disappeared altogether as he started tearing through them one by one, in a desperate plight to get his sword. Azula had joined him in the fight, angry that Sokka's attack had frustrated her original plan as it had… but her rage had been redirected towards the enemy once the leader of the group, the one who held Space sword, had swung the weapon to slice Sokka's body in half. Sokka had pulled away in time to prevent a worse injury than the one he sustained, but it was bad enough to leave a large gash across his abdomen.

He had been weakened after that, and she had taken out the man responsible for Sokka's wound with a blast of lightning. He had been left a smoking carcass on the town's street, but Azula had been too busy cauterizing Sokka's wound to pay the dead man any attention.

The White Lotus reinforcements arrived a day later, taking care to put away the surviving criminals and to check in on the two agents who had taken care of this complicated situation. They weren't quick enough to arrive before Sokka woke up, though, to find himself being nursed by Azula in a room they had been allowed to use as thanks for their services. The Princess had been tending to his wound, but she had become frantic as soon as she noticed he was awake. He couldn't remember most of what she had yelled at him, but he certainly remembered that tears had started to drip from her eyes onto his bare chest. She had wound up sobbing gently in his arms, telling him to never be as reckless again. Sokka had promised he wouldn't be, not expecting his promise would result in Azula lunging in to press her lips to his.

He still remembered he'd been stunned cold, too weak to process what she was doing, and by the time he finally was ready to respond she pulled away. She was terribly self-conscious after that, and he hadn't had the chance to seek her out in private until after the Order showed up. They had come with the invitation for the Games, too, and they had taken Sokka and Azula to the Fire Nation right away.

Sokka recovered fully during their trip to the Fire Nation, and he had found Azula was doing her very best to act like nothing had happened, as though she had shown no weaknesses to him that day. He had played along, and she had been grateful for it. Eventually when she began teasing him again he started doing it to her, too… he had been careful before breaching the topic of their kiss, but before he knew it she was complaining about how lousy a kisser he was. Indignant, he had offered to prove her wrong, and she had only laughed it off. Still, he had sensed a change in her demeanor. He could tell she was uncertain about what she had done, but she didn't seem to regret it altogether. It was why he had wanted to test the waters again when they sparred after their first failed fight in the Games, and why he had been so relieved that, despite the odds were that they would both freak out over this change, they had taken it as well as they could have.

It was probably what it meant to be in an adult relationship, he thought, as the bartender approached to ask him what drink he might interest him in. Sokka chose rice wine, and soon there was a small bottle sitting before him as he carried on pondering his current circumstances with Azula. They had talked about what they'd do regarding the way their relationship was developing, and they had agreed to let things carry on if they felt right… and damn, it felt right to him for sure. He wasn't sure anything had ever felt so right before. He only hoped, given how happy Azula had seemed during the last few days, that she would feel the same way.

There weren't many people Sokka knew in the pub, though he recognized a few athletes from the Earth Kingdom. There was also a group of Northern Water Tribe representatives, who had greeted him with a wave upon sighting him. Sokka counted himself lucky Hahn wasn't with them, or else he might have to take Azula anywhere but here. He had no doubt Hahn would take any chances he could to ruin Sokka's day, since their enmity hadn't mitigated at all in the course of the last weeks. If anything, losing against him in spear-throwing had been only another motivator for Sokka to keep fighting Hahn, seeing how the Northern Water Tribesman had been more than happy to rub his gold in Sokka's face.

He sipped his bottle, figuring he'd space out the drinking as much as he could until Azula arrived. He would much rather share drinks with her than end up drunk by himself just because he was anxious.

His thoughts continued to drift around Azula and their relationship for the next ten minutes. By then, the door swung open. He remained impassive, figuring Azula wouldn't be there for another twenty minutes or so, but a hand on his back made him jump and sit upright immediately.

"Aren't we touchy…" said Azula, smirking as she dropped her hand. "What's with that jump, huh? Are you drunk already?"

"N-no, I… damn," said Sokka, blinking as he looked at her with amazement.

Her hair was held in a half-knot, a style he hadn't seen her wear until then, for she usually favored her top-knot or a ponytail, at best. Seeing her wearing something more relaxed than her uniform for the games, or her usual Fire Nation garb, was quite surprising too: the red-and-black long-sleeved outer robe was held by a golden sash, tied around her waist. She wore a gold top underneath, and her red pants left her shins exposed, for she was wearing sandals instead of her usual boots. Despite he had been traveling with her for four years, Sokka had never seen her quite like this.

"You sure you aren't?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows before sinking into the stool next to him. "It looks like you're not being your sharpest self at the moment, I must say…"

"I-it's just… you look so…" he said, swallowing hard. Azula smiled.

"I do look good, I am aware," she said, with a low voice. Sokka blushed as she laughed softly.

"Y-yeah, you're not likely aware of how much, really," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "You really look amazing. I'm impressed."

"That I could look amazing? Why, I'm flattered," said Azula, as Sokka slapped his forehead with his hand. "I certainly believed you didn't give me much credit, but I never thought it would be as little as…"

"I'm not impressed that you could look amazing, I have always known you can!" he said, with a crooked grin. "Come on, you're the most beautiful woman there is, it's not like that's any news, is it? It's just… I didn't think you'd go all out on me like this."

"Oh, don't worry, this isn't me going all out," said Azula, smiling while blushing weakly at his compliments. "You've yet to see me in a dress, after all."

"Yet? So I will one day?" Sokka asked, his eyes gleaming with hope. Azula shrugged.

"As long as you behave yourself, you might," she said, smirking, but her smile softened soon enough. "And as shocked as you may be by how much effort I put into my appearance, you did the same, didn't you?"

"I-I, well, it's the best I had in my pack…" he said, with an awkward grin.

"Still means you put some effort into it. So you have no right to judge me for doing the same," said Azula. Sokka raised an eyebrow as she chuckled before gesturing at the bartender, who rushed to take her order.

"Yes? What would you like to drink?" the man asked.

"Lychee wine, if there's any in stock," said Azula. The bartender's positive answer made her smile in bliss.

"Always asking for the lychee wine, aren't you?" said Sokka, raising his eyebrows.

"If you'd ever had any, you'd understand. In fact… can you get some for him, too?" Azula told the bartender. "It's time you see why I ask for it in every establishment you want to stop at while we're in the Earth Kingdom."

"You're far too classy, you know," said Sokka, smiling as the bartender set the drinks before them.

"Anything else you might like?" he asked. Sokka bit his lip.

"Well, I haven't had anything to eat…" he said, looking at Azula sideways.

"Neither have I, for that matter," she said. "So we might as well have something here, right?"

"As you please," said the bartender, smiling at them.

From the options he offered, they settled on a bowl of noodles for each with a plate of dumplings to share afterwards. They had frequently ordered similar meals during their travels, so it carried a nice, familiar feeling to it despite they'd never had this inn's noodle specialty before.

"I didn't expect you to get here so fast, though," said Sokka, smiling. "I thought you'd be stuck at the Palace for longer than this."

"I found a chance to get away, took it as quickly as I could," she said. "Besides, you didn't really expect me not to be punctual, did you?"

"You're still like twenty minutes earlier than I thought you'd be, though," said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. Azula bit her lip.

"Well, maybe I just didn't want to be stuck in Zuko's boring celebrations for longer than I needed to," she said.

"He really doesn't know how to throw a party, does he?" Sokka said, chuckling. Azula smiled.

"He doesn't, and I've had to bear with more than enough of his parties for a lifetime as it is," she said. "He's almost making me regret the medals I've gotten…"

"You don't mean that," said Sokka, smirking. Azula chuckled.

"Okay, maybe I don't. He'd have to try a little harder to achieve that, but don't tell him that or else he might actually throw worse parties," she said, her eyes widening slightly at the thought. Sokka laughed.

"I'll keep quiet, I'll keep quiet. He's mad enough that I ran off after today's finals, I'm not going to rub his lacking party-throwing skills in his face too," he said. Azula nodded.

"Though I guess there's also other reasons why his parties are a drag…" she whispered, before sipping her drink softly. Sokka blinked a couple of times before frowning knowingly.

"Things are no better between you and your mother, are they?" he asked. Azula gave him a dry grin.

"Like they could ever be," she said, shrugging. "She just keeps giving me that look, approaches me only to congratulate me and ask questions I don't care for answering… at least not to her. She knows I don't want to talk, and yet she tries with that sad look on her face, like she knows it's just not going to work but she'll still try until one day I change my mind. It's… it's stupid, isn't it?"

"It doesn't sound very smart, trying the same thing over and over again…" said Sokka, swallowing hard. He knew the matter of Azula's mother was something he had to tread carefully around.

"She's actually not trying at all, you know?" said Azula. "It's like she just wants to have an excuse to put on that sad face, so that her husband will hug her and her other daughter will feel bad for her. Zuko thinks she can do no wrong, too, so the only one who sees how she's just playing the victim card time after time is me. Or…"

"Or?" said Sokka, looking at her in surprise as Azula stayed silent briefly.

"Or maybe the one in the wrong has always been me," she said, lifting a hand and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "And I'm just too cruel, and my mother is really trying as best as she can, and I'm not letting her succeed because I'm too stubborn and selfish to let her. It's what most people must see it as, after all."

"Hey…" said Sokka, gritting his teeth and stretching a hand towards hers. Azula's eyes darted towards him uneasily. "Maybe some people see it that way, but… but it's not your fault that things got like this, Azula."

"How is it not?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "I tried to kill my mother to end my hallucinations, I mistreated Zuko and turned him into my enemy, I fought by my father's side and even wanted to help him put everything to the torch. How do I not deserve being judged and hated and…?"

"Azula, do you really believe all this?" Sokka asked, angling himself on his stool so he'd be sitting facing her. She huffed.

"You don't?" she asked. "You may have warmed up to me after working with me, but you're not going to pretend now that you didn't see things that way before, too…"

Sokka frowned and lowered his gaze. His momentary silence was enough to answer her.

"See?" she said, shrugging. "It's not that farfetched."

"Thing is, you're… you're looking at all the bad things you may have done in the past and not caring for the good you've done too," said Sokka, frowning. "You're not thinking about the way you've helped people, because we both know you have. Ever since you helped take down the Kemurikage you've been helping people."

"And that makes up for everything else so easily? Really?" Azula asked.

"You know, I might be wrong and just talking out of my ass here," said Sokka, scratching the back of his neck. "But what I'm getting from this isn't that you haven't redeemed yourself in the eyes of the world, or that your mother is truly a victim and you're unfair to her… what I'm getting is that you don't believe yourself worthy of forgiveness, and that's why you keep pushing the rest of your family away as you do."

Azula's hand trembled on the glass she was holding. Sokka sighed.

"I'm not saying it to annoy you or anything," he said. "It's just… you hardly ever tried to prove yourself to me when we were starting out. All we did was bicker and snap at each other, act like independent agents despite we were supposed to work together, up until we were forced to cooperate if we wanted to make it through overwhelming odds. You never asked me to forgive you for anything you'd done, so I figured you just didn't want to be forgiven… but I eventually figured that you just thought you were long past the point of forgiveness. You didn't try because you knew it was pointless."

"Which is why I find my mother's efforts to approach me so laughable," said Azula, coldly. "Yes, I… I don't think anyone wants to forgive me, and why should they? Why would anyone want to? If I can live with that, why can't she live with the fact that I won't forgive her, either?"

"If she's trying, and yet knows it's not going to pay off… don't you think she's somehow living with it already, whether knowingly or not?" said Sokka. Azula snorted and shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. All I can see is that I'm a perfect excuse for her to feel sorry for herself. And I'm tired of watching her getting coddled by everyone because the rotten apple of the family doesn't think she's harmless or blameless…"

"And I certainly can't blame you for that," said Sokka, sipping his rice wine, his lychee still untouched for the time being. Azula frowned.

"But…?" she said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"But what?"

"That's the part where you tell me just why, regardless of how not harmless or blameless she is, I'm supposed to forgive her for all her mistakes and accept her into my life again…?" said Azula, looking at him quizzically. Sokka snorted.

"You think I'm going to say that? Really? Damn, we really don't know each other as well as I thought we did…" he said, shaking his head. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"Okay…? So you don't think I should forgive my mother, then?" she asked. Sokka shrugged.

"All things considered, you'd be very generous if you did," said Sokka, staring at the bottom of his empty rice wine bottle. "I may not know the full extent of the circumstances, but you and Zuko were stuck with your dad while she jumped back into the arms of the love of her life, willingly forgetting about you and Zuko when you needed her the most. I try not to be too judgmental, but… but I don't think I'd forgive her either if I were in your place."

Azula's eyes widened as she looked at him. Sokka gulped.

"Thing is, my… my mother told that Southern Raider that she was the Southern Water Tribe's last waterbender, all so she could protect Katara. That guy was there to kill her daughter, and my mother's immediate response was 'I can't let them do it, I'll have them take me instead'. And… and because of her decision, I grew up without a mother and so did Katara. My dad's been a widower for a long time, too. Decisions like those are hard to bear for those who are left behind, you see… but when I heard my mother had done it all to protect my sister, it only made me love her memory all the more than I already did. Because… because that was her, after all. She would protect us, put us first no matter what, and… and she died saving Katara's life, no less. She's a hero, no doubt. What she did was something that few people would be capable of, I'm sure of it"

Azula squared her jaw, as Sokka spoke with a frown on his face. A shadow seemed to cross his eyes as he let himself think of the circumstances that had ripped his mother away from him.

"Thing is, I may be unfair here, but… but your mother may have helped kill your grandfather, if all her story is true, but she gave you and Zuko up and left you at the mercy of your father who, as we know, wasn't exactly merciful. I don't know how can she live with herself whenever she sees the scar on Zuko's face, honestly. Doesn't she ever wonder if it might not be there at all if she had tried to get back to you two?"

"I… I don't know," said Azula, lowering her gaze. "But given the way Zuko is around her, clearly he doesn't hold it against her."

"No, he doesn't. He loves your mother to no end, that's for sure" said Sokka "Maybe he's never stopped to think about that, or if he has, he has refused to accept facts for what they are and doesn't want to hold her accountable for her mistakes. So I guess… I guess it's just karma, isn't it? A son who will forgive her for all the harm she caused him, and a daughter who won't ever forgive her. Makes enough sense."

"I really don't know how he's able to forgive her and accept her like he does," said Azula, sighing. "She really could have tried to go back to us if she cared. But… but she chose to forget us. It's her own choice, nobody forced her to give us up. And yet she did…"

"Same as how my mother died, and the rest of us were left to deal with the consequences of her decision, your mother made her own decision. She will have to learn to live with it," said Sokka. "Now… if she really wanted to earn your forgiveness? Might be she could actually try harder than just asking how you've been and smiling sadly at you. Maybe she ought to say outright that she would like to make amends for her mistakes, and then you could tell her she can't, and she would insist, and you would tell her she should have thought of it sooner, she could admit how wrong she was for all the mistakes she made, you could say it'll make no difference…"

"I get it, I get it," said Azula, smiling as Sokka stopped rambling. "You don't think she's doing much to get me to forgive her, then?"

"Well… not really, no," said Sokka, shrugging. "As you said, all she does is look sad when you're around, who wants to deal with that?"

"Glad we see things the same way, then," said Azula, sighing. "I thought you'd just give me some moralistic spiel about how I would be the bigger person if I gave her a chance or something…"

"Who'd want to be that big a person, huh?" said Sokka, smiling. "Besides, Azula… I know for a fact that you're not half as bad as you pretend to be, I always say it and it's always been true. You just enjoy having that sort of image because it helps you keep annoying people at bay."

"Well, it certainly hasn't worked with you, so how do you explain that?" said Azula, smirking. Sokka raised his eyebrows.

"Might mean I'm way too sharp not to see through your ploys?" he said, smiling. Azula gave a bark of laughter.

"Here I thought you'd say you weren't annoying at all, and yet you missed that chance?" she said, smirking. "Is the alcohol getting to you already?"

"Not a chance, Princess. I could keep drinking all night," he said, winking at her before sipping his glass of lychee wine. His eyes widened.

"Told you it was good," said Azula, smirking. Sokka snorted.

"You just love being right, don't you?" he asked. Her smirk only widened. "But anyways, back to the topic, my point was… I've learned to stop thinking of you as just who you were in the war, and I've learned there's a lot more to you than what met the eye. Your past can't be erased, and some people won't look beyond that when they see you… but I've learned not to be like that, after all we've been through together."

"Yet if you can accept me despite my past, maybe I should take a page out of your book and accept my mother despite hers," said Azula, with a sarcastic grin. Sokka snorted.

"Well, if you really want to do it, you can do it," said Sokka, smiling. "It's true that nothing will change the past altogether, you've both done things that some people may not want to forgive you for. And maybe you've done things you won't forgive each other for, too. It's up to the two of you to talk about it and find a way to put it all behind, if you really want to do it at all."

"But you have no plans to force me to do it," she said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"No. Do you want me to?" he asked. She smiled. "Because heck, I could be that obnoxious and irritating if you want me to be. Don't tempt me!"

"I didn't say that because I want you to, damn it," she said, smiling. "It's just… I can't understand why you're so willing to accept me, is all. I know, I know, we've been through a lot together, but that's still no reason to just… move past all the awful things I've done. I don't know why you'd want to do it."

"You don't? Well, damn, here I thought you understood…" said Sokka, smiling just as the bartender arrived again, bringing the food they had requested.

They thanked him for his services and he walked to tend to other people. Azula started her meal, but her eyes kept drifting towards Sokka as she pondered just what he meant with his last words to her.

"These are some really good noodles," he said, beaming as he munched on them. Azula smiled.

"Yeah, they're… they're not half bad," she said, taking a bite from a dumpling.

"You know, we really should stop worrying about sad things," he said. "No point talking about all that when we've just gotten two gold medals in the most important events we were participating in!"

"Not to mention we got them in some overwhelming victories," said Azula, smiling. "I'm sure nobody expected us to finish those fights so fast."

"It's still funny to me," said Sokka, chuckling. "I guess we really are that crazy, huh?"

"Goes to show what sort of dangerous things can happen when they make our fights overlap," said Azula, smirking. "People had better have learned not to cross us after this."

"I'd hope so," said Sokka, smiling at her.

"Though I guess they already knew not to cross me. You're the one they'll worry about now, with your scary black sword and all," said Azula. "Though I guess the scariest part is that you've been corrupted by me, if you think about it…"

"Oh, please, who's going to think I've been corrupted, really?" he said, smirking.

"Why, I'm sure of it," said Azula, smiling. "No idea who else thinks so, but I do."

"Come on," said Sokka, snorting. "You just think so because I'm not trying to lecture you about forgiveness and hope and all that, don't you?"

"Pretty much," said Azula. "Though I guess you never really tried to do that, but here I thought that by the time I talked to you about this you'd show me your true colors…"

"Haven't I?" said Sokka, looking at her with amusement. "By not giving you any lectures…"

"Heh. Maybe you really have," said Azula. Sokka snickered and kept eating. "So what I'm taking from this is that you'll let me make my own decisions when it comes to my mother? You won't ask me to be like Zuko?"

"If I wanted you to be like Zuko I'd hang out with Zuko," said Sokka. "I want you to be you, Azula. You're a lot more fun than most people I've known, after all."

"The fun siblings, that's what we are," said Azula, smiling. Sokka laughed. "Well, I appreciate it. I'm just… surprised, I guess. I'm not really used to being supported when I know I'm being unreasonable…"

"It's funny how you're just so sure you're in the wrong here," said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "If you think you're wrong, don't you want to be right?"

"Not like that, I don't," said Azula. Sokka smiled. "If being all-forgiving and generous like Zuko is being right, I'd much rather be wrong. My uncle surely would say I need to be humbler and less proud, but…"

"Oh, bleh," said Sokka, waving a hand carelessly. "You do what makes you happy, Azula. If one day you feel like you want to forgive your mother despite everything, then you can forgive her and we'll all go on with our lives. If you don't want to forgive her ever, then we'll go on with them, too. Simply be happy, alright?"

"You keep saying that," said Azula, after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. "But… it's actually a foreign thing, you know? Am I really supposed to live for whatever makes me happy? Is that the way it works?"

"I… I'm kind of surprised you have to ask that," said Sokka, his eyes widening. Azula frowned.

"What do you mean?" she said. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well… I guess things were hard, because we've only known a world at war," said Sokka. "And nobody really told us what happens once peace arrives. So now I'll say… yeah, you should find a purpose if you want, something to do with your life, since the war's over now and you can do whatever you like. Thing is, though… life really is too short for you not to do things you actually love. Why spend your days being unhappy when you could be happy? Why not do things you can enjoy, and be proud of the life you're leading?"

"But Uncle says pride is a bad thing, don't you know that…?" said Azula, teasingly. Sokka snorted.

"Come on, woman," he said, as she chuckled. "What I mean is, yes, you're allowed to be happy. Regardless of what you've done, all the things you'll never forgive yourself for, yes, you have a right to spend your life doing things that make you happy. That's the way it works."

"Heh, well…" she said, biting her lip as Sokka reached for the dumplings. "What if what makes me happy makes other people unhappy?"

"Why do you love making simple things complicated?" said Sokka. Azula laughed.

"Alright, alright, but hypothetically speaking… what if I realized that my current job doesn't make me happy? Do I leave it?" she asked. Sokka froze.

"W-well, if you have something you'd rather do, sure," he said. "Though it's always good to have something to do for a living, just saying. Better than depending on other people to get by, isn't it?"

"And what if what will make me happy is something that could make someone else happy too, in the future, but if I take it now I'll steal someone else's chance at happiness?" Azula asked. Sokka groaned, dropping his head on the counter.

"Azulaaaaa…" he complained, as she laughed and continued with her noodles. "Is it so hard for you to be happy, really?"

"I'm afraid I can't trust I'll be happy with no strings attached, Sokka," she said, smiling. "I'm not that lucky."

"Yeah, nobody is," said Sokka. "Most people need to work hard to be happy, you know? It's not just something that happens for free…"

"So you want me to work hard to be happy?" Azula asked. "And what if… what if whatever I worked for turns out to be disappointing in the end? What if it turns on me, somehow? What if…?"

"If nothing goes the way you want it to, then you try again and look for a new way to be happy," said Sokka. "Seriously, Azula… you deserve it, alright? Stop telling yourself that you don't, or putting up excuses. Just… go for it."

"Go for it," she said, raising her eyebrows before taking a sip from her drink again. "You make it sound so easy."

"How hard can it be?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, what exactly is it you're thinking about? It's not the throne, is it?"

"If it were, what of it?" she asked, testing him. Sokka grimaced and huffed.

"Here I thought we were past that," he said, sliding his hand over his hair. "You should just go join the Republic City council."

"What?" said Azula, her eyes widening.

"They can elect you for that, and then you can make a difference through political power," said Sokka, shrugging. "You could make life better for people there, don't you think?"

"… Maybe," she said, looking at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to give her a serious answer, at least nothing other than some reprimand for being too ambitious for her own good.

"Is that what you want, then?" he asked, looking at her sadly. "You… are done being a White Lotus agent?"

Azula blinked a few times before smiling. Sokka's expression was akin to that of a wolf soaked by the rain right now. She had to hold back the urge to reach out to caress his cheek.

"No, that's not what I want," she said. "And no, I'm not done being an agent. At least not until I've made you run out of patience with me."

The pressure in Sokka's chest disappeared as she said those words. She sipped her drink again, smiling still as he breathed out in relief. How he had feared that she would tell him she didn't want to work with him anymore…

"But… you said that maybe your current work doesn't make you happy," said Sokka, gulping. "Do you have anything else you'd rather do? Something else that would…?"

"My work doesn't really make me happy, but I am fond of it all the same," said Azula. "As for if there's something I'd rather do? Why… I'd rather not have to work at all, sure, and just spend all my days in luxurious relaxation, but so far all my attempts to do that have failed on me. As it is, I'm content with our job and I like it well enough. So no, I have nothing else I'd rather do. You can calm down now."

"I'm calm…" Sokka said, with a pout before getting back to his food. Azula laughed.

"Well, I guess this has been an eye-opening conversation about a few things," she said, taking one more dumpling as she gestured at the bartender to refill her drink. "Except for something I'm genuinely curious about now, though."

"What's that?" said Sokka, after slurping the last of his noodles.

"What would make you happy?" she asked, her refilled glass in her hand as she looked at Sokka with curiosity.

Sokka's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing. She was asking seriously, her golden eyes narrow as she leaned elegantly over the counter.

How could she ask something so obvious? He lifted a hand to his face, pointlessly trying to hide his blush. Azula snorted.

"Huh. I see now…"

"N-no! It's not like…!" Sokka said, knowing just what she had inferred from his behavior. Azula looked at him questioningly.

"What, you don't want me like that? If it turns out you don't I'll feel even more offended, just so you know," she said, teasingly.

"Azula, please…" said Sokka, frowning. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"There's no need for that, I was only…"

"I do want you," he said, and it was her turn to blush upon hearing him say it so bluntly. "But not just in the way you're understanding I do. It's… it's not just because I think we'd be hot together, which heck, is true enough, but that's not all. I just…"

"You want the whole thing, don't you?" Azula asked, her throat drying suddenly. "The mushy relationship, the cutesy nicknames…"

"N-no, no need for anything to change to that degree," said Sokka, his breath hitching. Why on earth was he growing so nervous with this conversation? He felt like such a fool, with his sweaty palms and uneven breathing… "I don't want that. I just… I like the way things are between us right now, you know? I like… I like being around you, bickering with you over nonsense, fighting bad guys with you, all of it has just made me happier than I ever thought it would. So… you make me happy, Azula. I don't really need to have a conventional romantic relationship with you to be happy around you. Even if you rejected me, which… well, it would hurt, but if you'd let me stay your partner and we could carry on as we are, I'd still be happy. Yeah, I'm sure of it…"

"You… you really mean this?" Azula asked, her gaze softening. Sokka blushed and reached for the last dumpling, eating it quickly. "Well… that all sounds fine, but I can't really accept or reject you until I know just what you're proposing, you know?"

"W-what do you…?" said Sokka, looking at her in confusion. Azula blushed and shifted on her seat, so that her body would be angled towards his too.

"What do you want us to be, Sokka?" she asked. "What do you want this to be? And, of course, regardless of the answer… are you sure it's me you want it with?"

"Heck, I've been resisting romance for years now, Azula," he said, smiling. "I wasn't looking for it, I told myself I didn't want it, and despite I wasn't waiting out for it, I still fell in love with you. It's not that I'm out for anything or anyone else, it's just… you. Only you."

The look on her face told him he had stepped on a landmine with his last answer. Wait, had he just told her he had fallen in love with her…? Oh, curses, there was no way she'd take that easy…

"U-uh, Azula…"

"Y-you fell… in love with me?" she repeated, as he swallowed hard and gave her a guilty grin. "That's… you're crazy. Why would you even…? Sokka, I'm…"

"You're amazing, and I'm a masochist, and I really feel so strongly about you that I don't know how I've kept it in until now," he said. "I mean, it's not like I really did, not after all we've kissed in the last few days, but still…"

"Sokka, you're… curses, you really have to be crazy," said Azula, dropping her head on her hands, her elbows on the counter. "I don't really want to drag my mother back into this, but if not even my mother could show me love and she admitted it outright…"

"Then it only means about damn time someone does," Sokka said, startling her. "You can feel unworthy of it all you want, you know? It changes nothing about how I feel. I really… I really like you so much, and granted I was scared of it at first, but it feels right, you know?"

"How can it possibly feel right? With me?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows and looking at him in surprise. "Sokka, you've had two relationships as it is, with perfectly normal people, and if neither of them worked…"

"Well, then, maybe this one's the one that will," said Sokka, pouting. Azula huffed.

"Yeah, because somehow I'm going to be better for you than either of them were," she said. Sokka smiled.

"Well… both Yue and Suki were less challenging than you are," he said, chuckling. "So you force me to do better and work harder, which might have frustrated me at first, but by now I… I'm grateful for it, really. So there you go, one aspect where you are probably better than they were."

"That's just one!" said Azula, snorting and looking at him in disbelief. "How am I any better overall? I'm not, I'm…!"

"Hey, I'd think when it comes to drawing comparisons between you and my two other relationships, the one doing it should be me." said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. "Azula… you don't have to resist being loved, you know? Even if you kicked me out of the pub right now, or if you stormed out because you think I'm out of my mind, I'd still love you. That's just how love works, see. So… so there's no need to worry. You don't owe me anything, I'll be fine loving you in silence if it really is that overwhelming for you. I can just shut up now and…"

"N-no. Don't… don't," said Azula, stretching out a hand and touching his arm. Sokka swallowed.

"You don't want me to shut up?"

"No. I… I think I need to talk more about this. But I need more of this," she said, gesturing at her drink. Sokka smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I probably will, too," he said.

By the time the bartender brought them fresh drinks and picked up their empty plates, Azula and Sokka were both sitting face to face now on the stools, as she tried to gather her thoughts and explain herself to him. Watching her gesticulate, opening her mouth and closing it without making a sound, made Sokka smile despite himself. It really seemed she didn't know where to start.

"Alright. Alright," said Azula, after taking a swig from her drink. Sokka followed suit. "I… I can accept that you love me. I can accept that your love is… is as pure as you say it is. But… I don't really know if I'm the one you should feel this way towards, is all. I mean, I…"

"We've already been through this, your past doesn't matter to me anymore," said Sokka. Azula's hand moved to her forehead.

"We did go through it, didn't we? Damn it…" she whispered. Sokka chuckled. "Stop laughing! It's… it's something serious, alright? I… I don't want to disappoint you or break your heart somehow, Sokka, so just take it seriously, will you?"

"You don't want to disappoint me?" said Sokka, smiling. "Well, I'm kind of used to heartbreak, if you're that worried about it…"

"I don't want to give you yet another reason to be heartbroken," said Azula. "And I don't… I don't want to put myself up for getting hurt either. I've been stabbed in the back enough times as it is…"

"And you can't trust that I won't do that to you?" Sokka asked, looking at her sadly. Azula cringed.

"See, there it is. I've already disappointed you," she said, shaking her head. Sokka smiled and shook his head too.

"Nah, I know you've been through a lot of that, Azula. It's only logical that you'd be cautious," he said, sipping his drink. Azula raised her eyes warily.

"You should stop being so understanding. It only makes me…"

"Makes you what?" said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. Azula sighed and dropped on the counter.

"Makes me want to reciprocate your feelings and say all the right things to make you smile like an idiot," she whispered. Sokka smiled sadly.

"So… does that mean you don't feel the same way, after all?" he asked. Azula jumped and sat upright again.

"Wait, I… I didn't say that," she said, lifting a finger towards him. Sokka raised his eyebrows.

"But you just said you want to reciprocate, which means you probably don't, right?" he said, reaching to grab her finger and lower it. Was the alcohol getting to her? He doubted it, though she certainly seemed a lot less uptight than usual…

"No, well… I don't know if I do or don't, alright?" she said, looking at him with unease "How am I supposed to know if I love someone?"

Sokka's eyes widened. Of all things she would ask him, he didn't expect that question.

"Well… damn, you've never really felt it before?" he asked. Azula lowered her gaze.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not exactly a very loving or loveable person," she said, shrugging. "I… I honestly don't know, alright? I've never been in love. I've seen love before, but…"

"If you've seen it, that means you have to have some idea of what it is," said Sokka. "I mean, for me it's… basically what I've just told you, I guess. Wanting that special person to be happy, and being there to help them find happiness if you can, too. It also means enjoying being with them, and just feeling like… like the world's a brighter place just because they're alive. So… that's the gist of it, I guess. A pretty bad summary of it, probably clichéd too, but…"

"So if I worry about someone else's happiness, and like being around them, and everything's better when they're there… it means I love them," Azula whispered. Sokka gulped.

"Well, that's how it works for me. No idea if it's the same for you. Heck, it's probably not the same for everyone, all things considered," he said, with a weak smile.

She nodded, but her brow remained furrowed as she looked at him. Sokka swallowed hard again.

"Really, Azula, there's no need to make a big deal of this," he said. "If you don't feel this, I…"

"What if I do, though?" she asked. Sokka froze. "I mean… I'm not entirely sure yet. But… but maybe I do. If I did, though… what would happen with us?"

"Well… we'd probably be together for real now," said Sokka, smiling a little. "We could go back to our usual lives, keep doing our job, but now we could book one room instead of two, heh. Save us some money, huh? B-but that's not important, never mind the money… well, we'd get to kiss and hold each other and just have dates and we could even sleep together if you want and… and just be a couple, but we would still get to be ourselves, you know? You don't have to stop being who you are, and neither do I. It's just that we would be intimate too, and that could be nice…"

"Just nice?" Azula asked, with a weak smile. Sokka blushed.

"Okay, it'd be unbelievably amazing," he said. "But ultimately it's just up to you. I mean, some people still do those things without being in love, but if you'd rather hold out until you know for sure that you're in love, well…"

"I… I don't think I'd ever know that easily," she said, biting her lip. "And I won't lie, I came here thinking that we would end up being intimate regardless of love confessions…"

"Well, you made me spill it out, so it's your fault," Sokka grumbled. Azula laughed and reached out to caress his hair as he slumped on the counter.

"I just didn't expect it, is all…" she said. Sokka smiled weakly.

"I know that. But now I'm just… wondering what's going to happen next," he said, glancing at her. "This is really…"

"You keep saying it's up to me, and I really don't know what exactly does that entail," said Azula, smiling. "Do I just say we should go for it, and we'll go for it? Do I say I'm not ready yet, do I say we should probably just be friends? Is that what I'm supposed to do?"

"Do… whatever makes you happy," said Sokka, sitting upright again.

"And what about what makes you happy?" said Azula.

"Your happiness will make me happy. Whatever it looks like," he said, smiling gently now. "So stop worrying about me. You're free to choose. You know where I stand now, so you're the one who makes the next move."

Azula's eyes widened as Sokka's attention returned to his drink. He finished the rest of it with several long gulps, as she sat where she was, her head light, her hands trembling, heat pooling in her lower abdomen. Whatever made her happy… she was the one who would make the next move…

Her entire body shivered as she realized there was just one thing for her to do as it was. If she was supposed to choose whatever would make her happiest… and if he thought that would make him happy, too…

She truly didn't know how love worked, but if it was anything like what Sokka described, this sensation in her chest, the one that only Sokka brought out of her, could only be one thing. This urge to make him laugh, to see him smile, to spend as much time as she could with him…

"Sokka," she called him. He set down the glass, biting his lip.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Made up your mind yet?"

"I… probably haven't really made it up completely yet," she said, gritting her teeth. Sokka smiled.

"That's okay. Take as long as you… woah, you sure you should drink all that so fast? Azula, isn't this lychee wine of yours pretty strong? You shouldn't…"

She downed the rest of the glass's content without a second thought. Sokka's reservations about it weren't important now. Not when she had to take a step forward and put a seal on this for once and for all.

If she already loved him, she wasn't ready to say it. If she didn't love him, then she certainly wanted to fall in love with him right away. Maybe she still feared betrayal and heartbreak, and she dreaded that those would be the only things that awaited the two of them if they went down this road… but her fears wouldn't stop her from going down the road all the same.

Her hands went to either side of his face as she leaned in, pressing her moist lips to his. He was surprised at first, but he closed his eyes soon and returned the kiss eagerly. He tasted the wine off her lips, sliding his tongue inside her mouth to find that all of her was as delectable as her lips…

The instability of the stools made them lose their balance slightly, forcing them to pull away just before Azula toppled over. She clasped his arms, balancing herself back into place, and the two of them were laughing about it soon enough, foreheads pressed together.

"We… we should get out of here," said Azula. "Go somewhere we won't fall off of, maybe…"

"Like my room?" Sokka asked, licking his lips nervously. Azula smiled.

"I guess there's less of a chance that we'll fall off your bed." she said, laughing before kissing him again.

"Still some chance, though," Sokka admitted, grinning before reaching into his pocket.

The bartender was busy serving a complicated drink for a frequent customer when he noticed the Princess and her Water Tribe companion had left the bar. There was a small pile of money left on the counter, to pay for the food and wine they had enjoyed together. The bartender smiled as he counted the money, having guessed from the start that those two were planning to spend an intense night together…


	5. Game 5: Lips

The pillow under her head was soft, but the hard floorboards weren't quite as gentle against her naked body. Azula's eyelids fluttered open slowly, every light too bright and painful for her eyes to endure right now. She groaned, covering her face with her hands in a hopeless attempt to evade the growing headache pounding at the center of her head.

She turned and her arm landed on another body. She grimaced and opened her eyes slightly to find her companion didn't seem to be in better shape than her, his mouth open as he drooled on the floor. Well, she had no qualms if he wanted to sleep and drool right now. He could sleep the morning away if he wanted to, as it was, Azula only wanted to go back to sleep as well… only, she couldn't do it on the uncomfortable floor, let alone with a hideous headache tormenting her.

She had to get up and on the bed, that was what she had to do if she wanted to sleep. Her legs had ended up under the mattress's frame, entangled with his. The two of them were a mess, that was for sure…

Azula cringed as she tried to force herself up, the pain shifting and changing locations now to the back of her head. She huffed with annoyance, reaching to grab onto the mattress to hoist herself up, but a hand on her thigh stopped her from moving any further.

"Where're you goin'…?" Sokka groaned, having closed his drooling mouth while she wasn't paying attention. Azula bit her lip as the hand moved up to her lower belly.

"I was trying to… t-to climb back on the bed. We fell off it after all, looks like," she said, rubbing her forehead with the heel of her hand. Sokka growled.

"Think you can climb back up there?" he asked. Azula huffed.

"If I do don't expect me to help you up, too. My head is pounding," she said, cringing as she clutched at the mattress and pushed herself up.

She was aware of how naked she was, absolutely, but she didn't care to think about how graceless she'd look right now as she climbed clumsily on her bed again. All she should have on her mind would be finding a pillow and resting against it…

She finally managed to drop on the bed, sighing in bliss on the disorderly sheets. She heard Sokka moving behind her, but she didn't react to the sound of him climbing on the bed too. Only when she had his fingers trailing her back did she respond with a soft moan and a shudder of mild pleasure. That had felt good.

"I'd say good morning… but after sleeping like that I'm too sore to actually mean it," said Sokka, dropping beside her. Azula hummed.

"We may have gone overboard with the drinking," she whispered. He smiled.

"Not that overboard, mind you," he said. "We've done worse…"

"Sure we have," said Azula. A soft caress against her cheek made her groan weakly. "Sokka…?"

"What?" she heard his voice next to her ear.

"I can't really… remember all of last night too clearly," she said. Sokka smiled.

"Need your memory refreshed?" he asked, kissing her ear and moving over her face slowly. She sighed.

"I could use some help remembering, yes…" she whispered.

"Well, you were here early and…"

"No, not that far back," she said, swallowing hard. "I mean… once we were up here. I think… I think the alcohol started to really get to me by then."

"Huh, is that so?" said Sokka, with a weak grin. "Well, you see, you begged me to take off all your clothes immediately and cried out for me to take you immediately and…!"

"That's a lie," she said. She heard him laugh next to her. "Can't be serious for once in your life, can you?"

"I can try, but I'd likely fail," he said, kissing her forehead. "Where does it hurt?"

"How do you know it hurts?"

"It's not the first time I've been with you while you're hungover, as you might recall… unless you forgot that far back after all, eh?"

She wasn't feeling too well, but she was well enough to give him a weak punch in the arm. Sokka laughed as he kept kissing her head, noticing that she was smiling slightly.

"What happened, damn it? I… I remember us kissing and dropping on the bed," she whispered. "What happened later?"

"You really got intense, pulling at my clothes and pushing me down on the mattress," said Sokka. "It was amazing, I'll say. You took control and I just went with it because… because damn, you really are amazing in bed."

"Hmm. Glad to hear it," she whispered. "What exactly did I do, then?"

"Other than strip me bare and kiss me wherever you could reach?" Sokka asked, grinning. "You also gave me a pretty harsh bite, right here."

Azula opened one eye with difficulty, finding Sokka pointing at the base of his neck. She bit her lip.

"Did you like it?" she asked. Sokka snorted.

"It was a surprise, but I certainly won't say it was a bad one," he said, grinning and dropping next to her again. "You kept kissing me and I just couldn't take it anymore, so I started groping you. And you liked that, for sure."

"Me? Please… there's no way I would have enjoyed something so crude," Azula said, with pride. Sokka smiled.

"Feeling more like yourself yet?" he asked. She sighed and nodded.

"Headache is still there, though," she said. "I think I'll have to run to the bathroom any minute now to…"

She couldn't finish the sentence before feeling the bile rising up her body. A hand flew up to her mouth, and Sokka cringed upon realizing what was wrong. He slid his arms underneath her, lifting her quickly and rushing her to the room's private bathroom. He placed her on the floor just on time, and she was free to release the content of her stomach into the toilet, her body arched as she moaned with displeasure.

Sokka breathed out and stood by behind her, waiting until she finally pushed herself up and made to wash her face in the sink. She rinsed her mouth thoroughly, standing up straight again and turning to look at him. It seemed she could open her eyes by now.

"Thanks," she said. He smiled.

"Happy to help," he said.

She rubbed the front and sides of her head with her fingertips, the headache fading slowly but surely after that She hated these consequences after drinking too much, especially considering she didn't think she'd had that much. Her thoughts were less jumbled by now, and her confusion over the previous night was growing dispelled as she remembered more of it.

Her eyes traveled over Sokka's shape slowly, taking him in as he was. He bit his lip and smiled at her as he noticed what she was doing.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Maybe," she answered, enigmatically. He smirked.

"Well, I hope you do enjoy it. That way you might not regret last night too much," he said. Azula huffed.

"Regret it?" she repeated. "That's what you think I'm doing?"

"Well, seeing how you've forgotten it, I'm thinking you have blocked it from your mind because, while it was the best sex of all time for me, it wasn't nowhere near your standards, Princess…" he said, shrugging carelessly.

"Huh. Well… I think I remember something that was well up to my standards," she said, stepping towards him and leaning close to his ear. "You really know what to do with that mouth of yours, huh?"

"U-uh, well…" said Sokka, smiling awkwardly as his cheeks flushed. Azula smiled.

"Does your jaw hurt, by any chance?" she asked. "You were pretty ravenous, with what you did to me down there…"

Sokka chuckled and smiled back at her. Her eyes were no longer clouded with pain, so they looked clear and unusually soft for her. The sight of Azula like this, naked and with her guard completely down, was something well worth treasuring.

"I think I could use more practice, but I'll live," said Sokka. Azula snorted.

"If my memory isn't failing me, you don't need more practice in terms of quality, let alone stamina," she said, placing her head on his shoulder. "Yet you're going to get more practice indeed, as long as you want to…"

"Really?" Sokka asked, smiling. "Wouldn't be as long as you want me to? Because as it is I'm perfectly happy to do it all day…"

"Not a very wise thing to do all day, though," said Azula, smirking. "Even you would need breaks once in a while."

"You underestimate my powers, Princess," Sokka replied. She laughed.

"Might be I do," she conceded, as his arms went around her waist.

"Want to go back to bed?" he asked, kissing her brow. "You don't seem to be all better just yet…"

"I could use lying down for a while," she admitted. "But I'm mostly fine by now."

"Well, let's see to it that you're completely fine in no time," said Sokka. "You must make a full recovery."

"It's not fair, though…" she sighed, as he walked her over to the bed again. "We had more or less the same amount to drink, and you're all fine…"

"Not my fault you're a lightweight, Princess," said Sokka, teasingly. Azula punched him weakly again, and he laughed.

"Jerk," she said, as he lowered her on the bed, letting her rest across it. He smiled as he sat beside her, leaning down to press his lips softly to her forehead once more. "And jerk again…"

"What?" he asked. "Is it you don't want me to kiss you?"

"I don't want you kissing my brow," she replied. Sokka smirked.

"What should I kiss, then?" he asked, playfully. He was dead certain she meant he should stop kissing her altogether… so he was left speechless when she lowered his face to hers, stealing a kiss from his lips.

"That's better…" she said, smiling. Sokka chuckled and dove in, kissing her again as her arms slid around his neck.

There was a noticeable improvement over last night, Azula reasoned, and it was that they would already be naked, so there would be no need to waste their time stripping each other bare. She hadn't expected them to reprise their tryst just yet, but she would be damned if she didn't obey the pull of desire that brought her closer yet to him. She didn't care that her stomach was begging her to put some food in it, now that she had relieved it of what had upset it. She was hungry for something other than food as it was. And despite how shocking that might have seemed, Sokka apparently was just as starved for Azula as she was for him.

His lips were so soft and masterful, the best she'd ever kissed so far. She couldn't help but berate herself for wasting all those years bickering without acting upon the pull of attraction between them… what had been the point either way? Protecting herself from heartbreak? Well, those lips were very well worth the heartbreak that she doubted would come at all. The lips and everything that came with them, too.

Because indeed, she found she wasn't quite as afraid from heartbreak anymore, not after succumbing to their urges and letting herself be free in Sokka's arms. Everything he was doing to her now felt just right, just as everything had the night before. The clearer her mind became, the better she could remember it. He had absolutely devoured her sweet spot between her legs, the troublemaker he was, bringing her to countless peaks of pleasure before sliding inside her.

He hadn't lasted very long, which was unfortunate but quite expected – he had indeed spent over four years traveling with Azula, longing for her in many ways, and he had endured the power of their attraction without making a single move until after she had kissed him. He'd stayed clear off romance, had no affairs to speak of, and instead had a crush, four-years-in-the-making, on his traveling companion. Clearly, he had enough reasons not to give his most stellar performance on the first round, but Azula hadn't minded it. She had proceeded to tease him, returning the favor from earlier and engulfing his cock with her mouth. It was as he struggled to endure the building arousal that he had actually pulled away from her too brusquely and fallen off the bed. Amused beyond compare, Azula had taken her seat on him on the floor, his cock sliding through her for the second time.

They had moaned and gasped desperately, thrusting until they were fully spent, though in Azula's case, it didn't seem there was any end to her excitement. Once their bodies separated, the pleasant bliss after sex had numbed her into sleep, preventing her from sensing the headache that had started to build. She hadn't enjoyed sex quite as pleasurable before, and she'd made the most of it for sure until she could hardly move again.

Yet she wasn't sure if the alcohol had something to do with her perceptions. Maybe she had been skipping over all the less-than-fun parts of the night they'd shared, willingly forgetting them because she wanted to think it had been perfect. Because if it really had been as good as she remembered, she would never leave this room again just so she could carry on enjoying his lips, his hands, his heavy breathing against her skin.

His touch grew more intimate, as he cupped her breasts gently and huffed in delight by touching them. Azula shifted underneath him, pushing herself up so he would caress her fully. His hands were large, calloused, and she relished in the feel of them against her soft skin. She was as good as entranced, her entire body felt surreal as all she could do was close her eyes and lose herself to every sensation he was gifting her with. His lips were now on her neck, sucking softly and kissing her in a way that made her shudder. The sounds of his mouth on her only served to excite her further, her legs spreading open instinctively as the heat built up with his every move.

"So you'll just have me pleasure you now?" Sokka asked, smiling as his hands carried on teasing her breasts. Azula hummed. "You were so very active last night…"

"It might be I just feel like being pleased right now," she said, smirking. "If you deliver I'll see to it that you're rewarded once we're done…"

"My, my… that's not so hard to achieve," said Sokka, chucking. "Just kissing you like this rewarding beyond belief."

"Your lips are just…" Azula whispered. Sokka's eyes rose to her face.

"Yes?" he asked. She snorted and shook her head.

"Never mind. It'll go up to your head," she said. Sokka gasped.

"How dare you accuse me of that? Like anything has ever gone up to my head, ever!" he said, smirking and reaching up to kiss her lips once more. "What is it, then? My lips are soft? Are they good? Or are they bad? Maybe you don't like them at all…?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't be letting you do this, now, would I?" Azula said. Sokka smiled.

"Fair enough," he said, his lips against hers even as he spoke. Azula groaned and kissed him deeply, far too eager to feel his tongue and warmth again.

He was clearly teasing her as he moved over her body, kissing her and sucking her skin wherever he went, but Azula refused to finish her compliment and he continued trying his hardest to make her spill it out. He devoured her breasts most eagerly, prompting her to moan and gasp as she held his face against her chest, and he carried on moving down her body until he had kissed her thighs and caressed them with such intimacy that his lover was shivering and panting under his tender touch.

She smiled wildly as he reprised what he had been stellar at during the night, his mouth working her core with such skill that she could barely keep up. Her entire body shivered violently, her chest heaving with every stroke of his tongue. But what she wanted the most were his lips, no doubt… he delivered kisses to her nether region with utmost care, his hands sliding up and down her thighs, prompting her to gasp and moan while she caved in to the shameful urge of asking for more…

He complied, his lips brushing her lower ones as he opened his mouth and licked her slit repeatedly, basking in her taste. It was so good he groaned in pleasure, despite he was the one delivering the excitement to her. Yet clearly when it came to having sex with her, his own arousal would increase no matter if he was the giver and not the receiver. He couldn't possibly hold back, or contain himself. Her body was just delectable, and giving her mindless bliss was all he could ever want.

He had learned through the night to reserve the best for the end, so he carried on lavishing her with all sorts of caresses until she was thrusting her body against him. That was the sure-proof sign that his lover craved for more, and he was most willing to give it to her indeed.

Her clit was quickly engulfed by the lips she had grown so fond of, and as Sokka gave her all sorts of sucks and licks, Azula cried out in delight and moaned as the powerful waves of arousal heralded the arrival of her orgasm. It was a potent climax, so much she felt lightheaded afterwards… but not so lightheaded as to keep from sitting up once his mouth pulled away from her core.

Sokka was licking his lips and smiling almost shyly by the time she grabbed him and forced him to lie on his back across the bed. He laughed as she returned the favors from earlier, her lips accompanied by bites and sucks alike as she traveled over his body. He could only find it pleasurable, though, perhaps more than he should have.

"H-hey, at this rate… a-at this rate I won't hold up…" he said. Azula pulled away after toying with one of his nipples.

"What'd you mean…?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"I may have managed to do it last night, but I'm not sure my body can take two orgasms again," he said, with a sad smile. "Sorry about… woah."

"Well, I can't say I'm sorry too," said Azula, after sitting on his lap with a pleased smirk. "Here I wanted to be a generous lover but… I guess it's best if I simply take what I want, isn't it?"

"Oh, dear…" said Sokka, smiling as she sank into his cock. Another long moan poured out of him, as Azula gasped and cried out in pleasure along with him.

He sat up as she bucked against him, all in an attempt to kiss her lips as she rode him. Her legs straddled him firmly, and his hands moved down to clasp her bottom and squeeze it as he encouraged her to slide lower yet.

She was enraptured by the sensations, for they felt far more powerful than what she had remembered from last night. Surely the alcohol had numbed her senses too much to enjoy this fully, but by now it was vivid and true, and she could see that she hadn't blocked any memories from last night: sex with Sokka really was this good. Her eyes closed and she beamed in sheer bliss, sliding her fingers through his hair and guiding his lips over her body. Kisses rained all over her as she thrusted slowly against him, her pelvis brushing his lower belly as they both moaned and gasped in bliss.

"This is… Ah, I love being inside you," Sokka groaned, pressing his face to her chest and closing his eyes. Azula snickered.

"You've only been inside me… thrice as it is," Azula whispered, her hands moving around his back as she shifted her hips circularly. Sokka groaned and looked at her in disbelief.

"I didn't need to be inside you… t-thrice to know I love it…" he said, as she moved again, her face hovering inches away from his. "I-it's like food, you know…?"

"Oh? Sex with me is like food…?" she asked, smiling. "Vital for you, all of sudden?"

"I actually only meant… I love food, always have, even if I'm not having it at the time…" he said, amid gasps. "B-but you know what? You're probably onto something… sleeping with you might have become vital all of sudden, yes…"

Azula laughed at his assessment, her face now pressed against his. Sokka smiled brightly and kissed her lips, prompting her to throw her arms around his neck to deepen the contact between them. She simply couldn't get enough of him, that was clear… she had to carry on touching him, kissing him, thrusting against him, because all of it made her feel things she didn't think she ever had. It wasn't just the fire of arousal, making its way under her skin and making her lightheaded with pleasure, but the tingles of happiness that burst inside her chest whenever she looked at him, whenever he said something stupidly adorable, whenever he kissed her…

She had slowed down with the thrusts, distracted by the conversation and then by the kiss. Sokka was the one to shift underneath her, prompting her to laugh against his lips before returning to her previous thrusting. He kept his arms locked behind her back, his breath coming in gasps again as she picked up the pace.

"S-so I was thinking…!" Sokka gasped, Azula huffed.

"You were thinking… in the middle of this?" she asked, between soft pants.

"Sure! My mind's… that powerful, ha, or… or maybe not…" he said, before a rush of pleasure made him roll his eyes back, to Azula's amusement.

"What were you saying, you fool?" she asked, leaning close to his ear and kissing his face as she moved.

"Y-you got anything else… to do today…?" he asked, his hands moving over her back. "'C-cause I was thinking…! W-we could… d-do something together later?"

"Ah? An… a-activity?" Azula asked, smirking teasingly. "Aren't we doing one… already?"

Sokka chuckled as she brought up what he had confessed to her about his first attempts to flirt with Yue. He had hoped to make her laugh by making foolish talk in the middle of their tryst, though truth be told it was mostly a strategy to make himself last longer. As it was, the beautiful smile on her face was making it impossible for him to stall his arousal anymore.

He kissed her deeply, his hands on her hips, moving her lower on him and prompting her moans to grow more desperate and intense. Her fingers slid through his loose hair, her nails grazing his scalp as her every sound poured into him. Sokka hummed in pleasure, gasping at overwhelming pleasure as he felt her walls were growing tighter and warmer…

She threw herself fully at him, pushing him down on the bed as she thrust against him recklessly while riding her orgasm. Sokka's hands on her bottom kept her in place, and he thrusted from underneath her as the walls massaged his length thoroughly, making him cry out in bliss as his own climax arrived, releasing powerfully inside her as his entire body grew numb underneath her. He couldn't see, lightheaded as he was, but he didn't care to. All he needed was to feel her weight over him as his extremities felt faded, as though he'd briefly lost control over them after the surge of passion between them.

Azula wasn't in much better shape, still breathing heavily as she laid atop him. Soft gasps were accompanied by a small moan whenever she took in air, and she raised her eyes to look at Sokka in amazement as he smiled with complete satisfaction.

"Why the blazes… haven't we been doing this more often?" Azula whispered, kissing his jawline softly. Sokka laughed.

"I dunno, but we can make up for it now… huh?" he said, tilting his head down towards her.

Azula kissed him deeply as a response, his hands caressing her intimately despite they weren't guided by lust anymore. As it was, all he wanted was the closeness. Having her with him like this was a dream come true, and he enjoyed every caress of her lips against his as he closed his eyes, to feel every brush of their bodies with the most intensity…

"So… what exactly was it you wanted to say about my lips before?" he asked, smiling. "You didn't get to say…"

"True enough. I guess you can't live with the suspense, can you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and watching him intently. Sokka chuckled.

"Well, you're right that it would boost my ego considerably, but I'm just curious, you know?" he said. "What's your favorite thing about them, eh, eh? That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

Azula snorted and rolled her eyes. Sokka's silly smile was endearing but she wasn't sure she felt like indulging him just yet. Still… maybe she ought to be slightly more honest than she usually was. If just to pay him back for the splendid sex…

"That they're attached to you, I guess," she said softly, before laying down to rest atop him. Sokka's eyes widened.

"Huh. That's not what I expected… and it's quite possibly the most romantic thing you've ever said to me," he said, grinning. Azula snorted.

"Romantic, as if," she said, smiling. "Does that really sound romantic to you?"

"Sure. It means you're happy that the one you're with is me," he said, with a happy laugh. "Sorry, sorry, I guess I'm being somewhat stupid because I'm just so giddy, but…"

"But you can't believe you actually got laid at long last," said Azula, smirking. "So you're basking in your great success…"

"What a success it was indeed," said Sokka, smiling. "I'm glad I held out, honestly. I wouldn't have wanted to get back to this with anyone other than you. Everything I thought we'd be… well, we were better than that, even."

"Even though we were drunk for the first two rounds?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We weren't that badly drunk, though, were we? Didn't you remember all of it by now…?" Sokka asked, she nodded.

"It came back to me in time," she said, stroking his chest gently. "And it certainly was enjoyable, but I'd think we've just found it's better when we're not drunk at all."

"You know, I half expected you to say otherwise," said Sokka, with a smirk. "I figured you'd try to tease me or so, claiming you'll have to drink a lot more the next time we get down to this or so…"

"I guess I came so hard I've lost my dishonesty for a brief moment. Never fret, though, it will come back in time," said Azula, smiling. "Not that it matters if it does, either way. You've as good as become the one person who knows just when I'm being serious and when I'm not."

"Which is something I'm very much stoked about," said Sokka, smiling and kissing her brow. "You're beautiful…"

"Ah, thank you," Azula said, smirking. Sokka snorted. "What? Expected me to say you're beautiful too?"

"I expected you to be a little less quick to accept it just like that, but it's you after all, huh?" he said, smiling and caressing her cheek. "Say… want to get some breakfast? We can eat downstairs together if…"

"I have no change of clothes. The less people see me in my clothes from last night, the better. I still have a shred of reputation to uphold, peasant," she said, kissing him after faking the spite with which she had whispered the last sentence. Sokka chuckled.

"Won't you still be seen walking out of here with me?" Sokka asked. Azula huffed.

"Why, if I walked out of here with you, I would be," she said. Sokka looked at her questioningly.

"So… you have no plans on walking out of here? Are you hoping to fly or…?"

"Do you want me to go so badly?" Azula asked, closing her eyes. Sokka's stomach lurched as his embrace tightened.

"Hell no!" he said. She smiled. "I just thought… wait, you're saying you'll just stay in here for like… forever?"

"I don't know if forever, but someone asked me to join him for some activity just a brief moment ago…" she whispered, raising her eyebrows. "Whatever did you have in mind?"

"Why, nothing much…" said Sokka, biting his lip and grinning. "Though I do think we should get breakfast. I can order something downstairs, bring it up for you. I eat so much already that they won't be surprised if I ask for extra food…"

"Eh, the pub's staff surely know already what we were up to, there's no protecting my reputation from them," said Azula, smirking. "So don't worry about hiding that it's food for two if it comes up. The bartender saw us together already, after all…"

"Yeah, that is true," said Sokka, smiling. "Alright, then. I'll be back in a heartbeat, okay?"

"You'd better be," said Azula, kissing him again before rolling off him. "I think I'll just doze off while you're gone, if you don't mind…"

"Get all the rest you need," he said, cupping her face and kissing her cheek. "You don't have any events today, do you?"

"No… it's supposed to be my day off," said Azula, smiling. "Same as yours. We must prepare for tomorrow's race, after all."

"Are you… worried about it?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.

"I could be, but after all this I feel physically incapable of stressing out about anything right now," she said. Sokka beamed and climbed atop her to kiss her one more time.

"I'll try to make sure you still feel that way after all this is over," he said, kissing her cheek.

"You mean, after the Games are over?" Azula asked. Sokka nodded.

"This is just the start for us, isn't it?" he asked. "Well, the start of this side of our relationship, that is. We've been together for long enough as it is…"

"That we have," said Azula, smiling. "Now… what about that breakfast?"

Sokka got dressed in the simplest clothes he could choose before heading downstairs. Azula languished on the bed, staring at the ceiling and dozing off ever so slightly. She could use more rest for sure, but what she really wanted was to eat. That might help keep her awake, after all.

Sokka returned after what had felt an eternity, and he startled Azula just as she was about to fall asleep. He was carrying a large tray with food, and he smiled broadly at Azula as he set it down before her.

"Hope you like eating in bed… because I don't think you should go downstairs like that," he said. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"So you mean I shouldn't show off my naked beauty to all those around us?" she asked, teasingly. Sokka laughed and shook his head.

"Nope! Your naked beauty is now mine to behold, like it or not," he said, smirking. Azula snorted.

"Oh, sure it is," she said. "Though… I wouldn't want to go out there like this either way, so I suppose we're on the same page after all."

Sokka chuckled as they started eating, enjoying each dish gladly as their strength returned. The food proved to be plenty for them both, to Azula's surprise; Sokka's ravenous appetite often made him need second servings of everything during their travels, and quenching his hunger never was an easy feat.

"And now what?" he asked, as they lay stretched across the bed, the tray already out of the way as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Well… you did propose we should do an activity together, and I have an idea for one…" said Azula. Sokka's eyes widened with interest.

"Oh? What might that be?" he asked. Azula smiled and sat up, reaching down to clasp his hand in hers.

Before he knew it, they were both soaking in the bathroom's tub, covered in bubbles and floating amid sweet floral scents. Azula was absolutely relaxed as Sokka took care to comb her hair, kissing her temples and sliding his hands over her body when he had the chance.

"This is a good activity, I'll say," said Sokka, beaming. Azula sighed and let herself drift in the water until she was pressed against him, their bodies in smooth contact thanks to the water between them.

"Certainly. And seeing how you probably hadn't planned any activities for us in the first place, I'd think this is perfect for us right now," she said, smirking. Sokka snorted.

"Oh, sure as heck I didn't plan anything. Not like I was going to offer taking you to an all-you-can-eat meat buffet, not at all…"

"You just ate," Azula said, looking at him skeptically. Sokka smirked.

"And you think that's going to stop me, Princess? Really? I guess you just don't know me as well as I know you," he said, and she rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"I know you, you hopeless meat-eater," she said. "And I know, as I think I do know, that if your stomach wasn't full after our breakfast, you would have asked for more. Since you didn't, you have no need for more food."

"Hm. Harsh analysis, but alright, alright. I concede," he said, smiling as he spoke into her ear. He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and Azula sighed and shivered in bliss.

"Besides, don't you like this activity as it is?" she asked. Sokka snorted.

"Not at all. I'm so very tempted to make a run for it right now, because being in a warm tub with the hottest girl I've ever met is just not something I enjoy," he said, smirking and caressing her body. Azula smiled too.

"A pity. Because the hottest girl you've ever met has decided to be selfish and imposing, so regardless of your wishes, you're staying here with her," she said, turning around in his arms and giving him a challenging glare. He laughed.

"What a troublemaker she is, huh?"

"You have no idea," she said, leaning close and kissing his lips.

They soaked in the tub for what felt like hours, their fingertips pruning in due time, but they couldn't bring themselves to care. As they kissed, splashed each other playfully, dared touch one another intimately and whispered gentle or defiant words to one another, the moment crystallized for them as an instant of sheer bliss. And what made them the happiest, naturally, was being with each other.

"So… about that walk of shame I'll have to make," Azula said, as they were drying up after draining the tub. Sokka sighed.

"Must you? You could stay here instead… you know, forever, as you said would be nice," he said, shrugging innocently. Azula chuckled.

"I've come to realize it's not the best idea. We have a big race tomorrow, remember?" she said. "I should probably go home, get more rest, and so should you…"

"Well, if you do want to go home then I'll go with you," Sokka declared, proudly. Azula smirked.

"So you want all people to know just who's the reason I'm doing my walk of shame, huh? Figures," she said. Sokka chuckled.

"I just thought you might not want to do it all by yourself," he said. "I can throw on my clothes from last night too, you know? Then we'll both do it together…"

"That's ridiculous," said Azula, looking at him skeptically. Sokka grinned.

"Okay, okay… or maybe I can lend you my clothes!"

"Because that's going to keep at bay all suspicions that we fucked last night, absolutely," said Azula, smirking. Sokka bit his lip.

"Eh, if you really want to hide our current relationship status it's not going to be easy," he said. "There were people from other delegations down at the pub last night, they probably saw us go upstairs together, or at least kissing…"

"True," Azula conceded.

"Not to mention that we've seen kissing before," said Sokka. "And what's worse, I think a pretty big number of people, including my dad, had assumed we were together long before this happened. So…"

"So, according to them, we were fucking long before we really were," she pondered, smirking. "Well, aren't we complicated."

Sokka chuckled and surrounded her with his arms, kissing her brow. Azula relaxed against him.

"If you'd rather we don't go public with it, though, I'm fine with it. I know you're still figuring out how you feel, and if keeping things quiet is better for now, we'll just do that. Alright?"

"Huh. That's awfully patient and generous of you," she said, sighing and resting against his shoulder. "But it won't amount to much if we're already under such heavy suspicion, will it?"

"Eh, don't mind them," said Sokka, shaking his head. "We're doing this for ourselves. That's just how it is, isn't it?"

Azula smiled and nodded. She reached up again to kiss him, and Sokka held her close as she did. It was good to hear he wasn't particularly interested in showing off their relationship to anyone, since Azula had the feeling most people wouldn't approve in the first place. But all he really cared about was being with her… she couldn't help but smile brightly at the thought. She had an idea of what this feeling in her chest was, but she wasn't sure she ought to put it to words yet. She didn't really know if she could… but the more he said sweet words like these, the more he grinned foolishly as he helped her get back into her clothes, the more he kissed her lovingly in ways she had never been kissed before, the more convinced she grew that she loved him, too.

But for the time being, Azula wouldn't say it aloud. Not just yet.

They didn't walk hand in hand, despite they were both tempted to do it, once they were out in the streets. Sokka kept smiling and giggling as their hands brushed together, and Azula rolled her eyes at him. He offered her a cup of tea at an establishment they passed by, and she agreed to it without a hitch. A small play was being presented too in a street theater, and they stopped by to watch it, by her request. Sokka would have asked her why she wanted to watch it if she would judge it as harshly as she did, but he already knew why: they were both stalling, trying to spend all the time they could with each other before their imminent separation at the Palace gates.

Despite her negative to join him for the meat buffet, Azula ended up following him into a restaurant eventually, and they had lunch together as well. Regardless of who might see them, they couldn't quite hold back a few gestures of affection through the meal, such as eating off each other's chopsticks or caressing their hands gently. All the while, Azula couldn't bring herself to stop smiling even if she tried. Because she certainly did try, and Sokka noticed. As soon as he teased her about it she flicked his forehead, and yet she failed to hold back from smiling as he pouted ridiculously at her.

"Well, now we've done quite a lot of activities, seems like," Azula said, as they made their way to the Palace by afternoon. "Are you satisfied yet?"

"Like I could be satisfied just like that," said Sokka, stubbornly. Azula snorted.

"I'm not sure how to interpret that," she said. "Am I that incapable of fulfilling your desires and wishes, or is it you can't get enough of me…?"

"We must have communication problems if you really think it could be the former," said Sokka, smirking. "You know what I meant as well as I do. You're addictive and you don't even know it."

"Ah, well, I certainly have been many things through my life. Addictive may just be a flattering one," she said, smiling at him as they stopped at the gates. "Well, then… I guess I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, though… I still don't feel like saying goodbye," said Sokka, with a shy smile. "Spending hours without you will feel like such a waste of time, you know?"

"You do know we'll be around each other again all the time once the Games end, so just be patient," said Azula, smiling. Sokka sighed.

"Still feels like it'll be forever until then, despite they end tomorrow," he said, smiling and reaching up to caress her cheek. "Say… what if I sneak into your room tonight? I could try doing that…"

"So that we'll be extra tired tomorrow morning for the race?" Azula asked. Sokka bit his lip.

"Okay, okay. Just cuddling. Promise," he said, lifting his hands in a gesture of innocence. Azula smirked skeptically.

"Right. Just cuddling. Like I could believe that," she said, prompting him to laugh.

"Come on, trust me! What's the worst that could happen?" he asked.

"That any of my relatives walks in on us fucking, I guess?" she said. Sokka snorted.

"I just said we won't, though! And if they show up I can just… hide under your bed or something!"

"You could, but you'll be naked either way," she said, shrugging. Sokka pouted.

"You really don't trust my promises, do you?" he asked. She laughed.

"Oh, I do. The thing is, I don't think I can trust myself to hold back anymore when we're alone," she said, shrugging. "So if you say we're only going to cuddle, but you're not against something else happening…"

"Why, I would never be," said Sokka, smirking.

"Then that only means I'll get my way and we'll end up fucking, like it or not," she said. Sokka chuckled.

"What's not to like?" he asked, approaching and caressing her cheek. "If it costs me the victory in tomorrow's race, well, I honestly didn't expect to win in the first place. So I'm not worried."

"Well, that's your problem, but I do want to win," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. Sokka smiled.

"Then once I'm in your room you'll have to make up your mind about whether you care more about absolute victory or getting laid," he said, winking at her. Azula snorted as he placed his hands on her waist. "That is, unless you don't let me in to begin with…"

"At this point I don't know how not to," she whispered, before leaning in to kiss him softly. "Then… I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yeah," he said, chuckling. Azula pressed her forehead to his, smiling.

"Foolish peasant, playing with fire as you are…" she said. "You just fancy being burned, don't you?"

"With every fiber of my masochistic being," he replied. She laughed and shook her head before giving him a deeper kiss.

She pulled away after that, glancing back at him again as she crossed the gates. She tried to stop herself from looking over her shoulder too much, but she kept doing it all the same. He was waving at her, and she smiled and waved somewhat shyly too. The sight of his grin set fire on her very soul.

So she marched inside the Palace, her head held high, still beaming, forgetting altogether that she was still wearing clothes from the day before.

Sokka sighed, staring after where Azula had disappeared with a love-struck smile. He was aware that they had been seen by guards, and suspected they might report what they'd seen to Zuko, but right now his sense of self-preservation was as good as non-existent. All he could do was wonder what would happen between them tonight, and tomorrow, and the rest of their lives…

"Ehem."

The voice of whom had cleared their throat behind Sokka almost made him jump three feet into the air. It wasn't until he had already turned that he realized he should have recognized it immediately, because the one watching him with an amused smirk was none other than his father.

"D-Dad!" he cried out, blushing deeply. "I-I was just… w-we were just…"

"I saw all that, you know?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "No idea what you talked about, but I saw those kisses, Sokka…"

The blush on his cheeks grew stronger, forcing him to lower his head in embarrassment before his father laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"You're such a rascal, my boy!" he exclaimed. "Charmed the Fire Nation Princess now, no less! I knew she'd join the family eventually, you couldn't hide it even if you tried!"

"I-it's not…! I-I mean, it's not like I even know if she wants to join! She's not that sure how she feels yet and…! Stop looking at me like that, Dad!"

Hakoda laughed as he turned Sokka around, guiding him towards the Southern Water Tribe's temporary villa. He meant to have a good chat with his son about his new relationship, not just to offer advice on how to make sure this relationship lasted, but also because he was undeniably curious as to how this fascinating affair had begun between Sokka and Princess Azula.


	6. Game 6: Reveal

A strong knock on the door brought Azula to her senses. She sat up somewhat clumsily, her hand on her forehead, as her eyes failed to grow adjusted to the darkness in her room. The knock resounded again.

"What?" she called out, only to hear a servant's voice as a response.

"Fire Lord Zuko asked me to wake you, Princess. The competition will begin in two hours!"

"Two hours…" Azula growled, staring at the window. "I could've slept through at least one more, damned Zuko…"

"Did you say something, Princess?" the servant called. She groaned.

"I'll be up briefly, get lost!" she snapped.

She heard the man whimper outside the door before his footsteps gave out that he was scurrying away. Azula might not be quite as abrasive as she used to be, but she was not a morning person, especially not when she had been woken without her express permission or request. Especially not when she was slightly more tired than she should have been…

"Who was that…?" said a sleepy voice next to her. Azula sighed and turned to look at Sokka, splayed across her bed, with his eyes still closed.

"A servant. It's not even dawn yet, damn it," said Azula, clenching her teeth. "Well, either way, you have to go now, Sokka."

"I do…?" he asked, grimacing as he stretched lazily. "I dun wanna…"

"Not my problem. Out you go," Azula said, trying to shove him off the bed, but one of his arms slid around her waist and brought her close to him.

With no difficulty, and without opening his eyes at all, he managed to press a kiss to her lips that silenced her and made her a lot less commanding. He certainly didn't care to get up, no matter what they had to do today, because what mattered most was that they were together and free to act on their feelings…

"Sokka…" she gasped breathlessly, as she pulled away. Sokka smiled. "We have to get ready. The race…"

"The race…?" he repeated slowly, frowning. "The Games, you mean? Ugh, do we have to…?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, kissing the tip of his nose. "Get up, scramble off to your inn, get ready. We'll see each other again in no time, won't we?"

"It'll feel like forever, though…"

"You keep saying that, dummy" said Azula, dropping her head on his chest briefly. Sokka smiled.

"Because it's true, you know?" he said. "Besides, what do you want to go to that race for…? You're already firebending champion, aren't you?"

"Well, you're not non-bending champion, remember?" said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "Besides, I'd much rather be an all-around champion, and as it is, the Avatar still outdoes me there, remember?"

Sokka remembered, or at least he did now. Indeed, Azula remained the uncontested firebending champion, and it was apparent that nobody would dethrone her from that position. Katara had struggled in her events against a particularly talented Northern Water Tribe waterbender, but by now she had put enough advantage between herself and her top rival and secured the spot of waterbending champion. Toph, on the other hand, was just as uncontested as Azula, despite Bumi had indeed granted Flopsie a medal that, by all means, had belonged to her.

Yet nobody had earned as many medals as the Avatar had so far. All the open bending events had been won by him, except for the team ones, and he had taken medals in most events he had participated in, even if not always gold ones. He stood one gold medal above both Azula and Toph in the All-Around ranking, something the firebender and earthbender were not entirely pleased by.

Everyone's sights had been set on winning the Games' very last event. Sokka and Suki had to settle their tie, and Hahn was eager to make that a triple-tie instead, so he could stand on par with them both. Azula and Toph wished to even out with the Avatar, and Aang needed to triumph in the last game if he wanted to keep the title of champion of the games all to himself.

But as Sokka laid in Azula's extremely comfortable Palace bed, he wished he could forget all about the competitions and just sleep the day away. He didn't care if he didn't get crowned as non-bending champion, as long as he could carry on relaxing with Azula…

"Is it you think being champion is more important than being with meeee…?" he asked, with a deliberately manipulative voice. Azula scoffed.

"If I answer that I'm sure you'll be affronted and you'll jump off the bed right away…" she said, smirking. "Which is what I was trying to achieve, actually, so yes, it's far more important than being with you."

"You're lying…" Sokka said, smirking. "I know you are."

"How would you know that?" Azula said, looking at him defiantly. Sokka only giggled to himself. "Is it that whenever I say something you don't like you'll claim it's a lie just to feel better about yourself?"

"Basically, yes," he answered, smiling. Azula snorted.

"You're hopeless," she said, leaning close to kiss him again. "But seriously, Sokka…"

"Okay, okay… it is a long way to the inn, I should go now," he admitted, sighing and sitting up, bringing Azula with him as he did.

"We'll meet again at the race," she said, kissing him softly. Sokka groaned and caressed her body intimately as he deepened the kiss.

They spent at the very least three more minutes greeting each other properly, their lips too busy with the other's to even speak anymore. Despite she had urged him to hurry out of her room, she felt a little reluctant to release him from her embrace by now. He was smiling broadly by the time they finally parted, breathless again.

"Morning," he said, licking his lips. Azula huffed.

"Morning to you too," she said, pressing one last kiss to his forehead. "Get going."

"Stop hugging me and I might do it," he said, teasingly. Azula sighed, shaking her head before kissing him one last time.

"Alright," she said, climbing off him. "Now you can go. No more excuses."

"Drat. Here I hoped you'd have rearranged your priorities," Sokka sighed, punching the air with frustration. He smiled as he saw Azula was laughing softly at his words.

"You won't be that lucky. Get going," she said, climbing off the bed and tossing his clothes at Sokka. "Here. Your turn to make a walk of shame."

"Fine, fine…" he said, smiling as he reached for them.

He was ready to go in about five minutes, but he surrounded her with his arms again and kissed her deeply before leaving. Azula was left smiling somewhat foolishly after he had climbed out the window and escaped through the Palace grounds, rushing on his way to his inn outside the crater.

It was hard to come back to her senses at first, but she managed to focus once more as she put on her Fire Nation uniform, fastening her belt over her long red shirt. She tied her hair in a tall ponytail, her bangs framing her face, but kept out of the way with the help of her white headband. She took deep breaths, staring at herself in the mirror. It would be the very last time she'd have to wear this outfit… well, unless someone decided to repeat this event, but even then she imagined the Fire Nation uniform might be redesigned.

Still, she let a soft breath escape her as she stared at her reflection. She had been the most important representative of a nation that had grown wary of her, and yet they had cheered for her since she had stepped out for her very first event. The uniform had grown to symbolize much more than just her belonging to the Fire Nation: it actually symbolized her return to the Fire Nation, and a change in the way the world saw her. And despite it was true that she wouldn't apologize for her actions because she had never believed she'd be forgiven, it seemed she was welcome to come home now regardless of it all.

She could stay here a little longer, she thought… maybe she could suggest to Sokka that they could spend a few more days here, if he'd like to take a short break before they went back to their job. Though she wouldn't mind if he wanted them to head back right away, either. As it was, knowing she was no longer scoffed at, scrutinized as though she might lose her mind and banish everyone all over again, was already a bigger relief than she had expected to experience during these Games.

She had breakfast by herself, but she joined the rest of the delegation later, or at least, the ones who would take part of today's competition with her. Zuko and Iroh gave motivational speeches that made her yawn, and eventually they filed out to the front gates, where the other delegations had started to gather already.

"Today's going to be my day, count my words, Spicy," Toph said to her, smirking as Azula approached. The Princess only smirked mockingly.

"Since when are you any good at running, Dirt Worm?" she inquired. Toph snorted.

"I don't need to run. I just need to use my bending to my benefit. Don't you know that it's a free-for-all race? We're supposed to be allowed to bend here, from what I've heard."

"Is that so? Then I suppose I'll be allowed to to use mine as well?" Azula said, intrigued. "Why, then they might as well give me the medal already and be done with it…"

"Ha! You'd wish!" Toph sneered, folding her arms over her chest. Azula only smirked more.

Aang and Katara were busy stretching, whispering encouraging words to one another. The display made Toph roll her eyes, and she confessed to Azula that she had never wished she didn't have seismic sense until those two had started to get so mushy around each other. Azula was busy listing off possible solutions for her problem, such as asking the Avatar to take her bending (something that made Toph gasp in horror) so she would never hear them again, when a familiar hand clapped her shoulder.

"It hasn't started without me, then? Here I thought I'd be late."

Azula's heart accelerated as she found herself expecting, or perhaps even hoping, that Sokka might kiss her as a greeting. But he did nothing other than pat her shoulder and interrupt her as she listed absurd ideas to the troubled earthbender. Toph raised an eyebrow in Azula's direction, but she shook her head as a response to Sokka's question.

"You're not late, but you're not exactly early either," she said, smirking. "We'll have to gather at the start line, I think your sword master has some sort of briefing for us all. So come on, come on. Better to get away from the Sweeties and their love fest."

Indeed, Katara and Aang were busy holding each other and kissing by now. Azula smirked as Sokka made a face and moved to follow Toph. Still, he walked a little slower, and so did Azula. Their hands grazed each other.

"You made it just fine, then?" Azula asked. "I assume you took a carriage, you don't look tired…"

"Had no choice, or else I would have been worn out already by the time I got here," he said, chuckling. "Not much point in wasting my stamina before the race, right? And truth be told, I actually spent a lot of it last night…"

"What, you did?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "Why was that, last minute training?"

"Of course," said Sokka, biting his lip and smirking. "Didn't you do the same?"

"I have no clue what you mean," she said, putting up her most innocent front. Sokka could only laugh.

A group of White Lotus agents helped Piandao arrange the runners at the starting line, where he told them to stand by as he informed them of the technicalities of the competition. Quite a number of non-benders who would be taking part in the contest were concerned about how disadvantageous this event could be for them, and as expected, the White Lotus had come up with their solutions for that particular problem.

"Bending is allowed, as long as you don't use it to attack any other competitor directly."

Naturally, the backlash of outraged benders made Piandao cringe. Why was he always the one who had to deal with the benders in their backlash over apparently unfair rules? Oh, because he was the youngest and least experienced of the Grand Lotuses, that was why…

"If we allowed all-out bending, then non-benders would have to be allowed to bring weapons with them too!" he shouted, and the uproar died down. "And I'd think nobody wants to get stabbed in the kidney in the middle of a race, right?"

"Well, there's no need to be so extreme…" Aang said, grimacing.

"If anyone gets caught bending directly at their rivals, they will be disqualified," Piandao finished. "The same goes to direct aggression without bending: no punching, no kicking, nothing. This is a race. You're supposed to run, to prove your speed and stamina, not to kill each other on your way to the finish line."

"And what about using our bending as a boost?" Toph asked. Piandao's eyebrow twitched.

"If any competitor is caught flying with firebending, or using only earthbending to move instead of actually running, they will be disqualified as well," he stated, and Toph made a sound of disgust.

"Heck, if that's how it is you might as well just forbid bending altogether!" she shouted. Piandao smirked.

"I still could, if you'd rather I did," he said. Toph froze. "But I won't. If you have no idea how to use bending to your benefit in any other way, you'll just have to learn to be more creative. There will be checkpoints at each stage of the circuit around the crater, with members of the White Lotus standing guard at them. If anyone of you is caught cheating these rules in any way…"

"We'll be disqualified. We got it," Toph snapped, rolling her eyes. Piandao chuckled.

"Exactly. So, as you know, you'll run from here, straight to the edge of the crater. The first checkpoint is there. You'll make a complete lap around the crater and then run back here through the very same street. You'll run one lap around the Palace, and then you'll have to cross this very same line at the gates to finish your run in the race. If you don't finish, whether because you need to retire or for any other reason, you'll be, naturally, disqualified…"

"All that matters is getting to the first three places, though," muttered Hahn, frowning and poising himself in a running position already. "So who cares about the ones who retire…?"

"… And there will be a team of physicians ready to help anyone who lags behind if they can't keep up with the race," Piandao finished, missing Hahn's words altogether. "Finally, remember this may be a competition, but it's a cordial one. You will respect the other runners and you will give your best to bring honor to your delegations. Is that understood?"

The group of runners grunted a positive response, and Piandao nodded. Everyone got into position as he stood out of the way, nodding at the agent who held the flare so he would be ready to set it off. The man lit up the firework as Piandao made the calls to start the race.

"Get ready! Set…!"

A blast of red in the morning sky, and the race began. The runners leapt out, starting their run immediately…

Or at least, they tried to.

Because a clumsy earthbender, who may or may not have understood Piandao's rules, decided to cause as good as an earthquake, shattering the earth so that his rivals would fail to take off properly. Azula and Sokka stumbled, struggling to make it out of the chaotic mess amongst tripping runners, trying to get away before they were injured by the falling debris. Once they had put a fair distance between themselves and the walls Azula dared glance back, grimacing as she saw how damaged the walls were.

"Who the hell was the madman who…?!" she asked, aghast. Sokka shook his head.

"Not important! Keep running!" he said. "There's others behind us, and Aang's ahead of us…!"

"Your blind buddy was with him!" Azula growled. "You don't think it was them, do you?"

"No, it wasn't!" came another voice from behind them. Suki rushed to their side, breathing heavily as she pressed herself to move faster. "Piandao's grabbed the guy who did it! But we've got to hurry if we want to stay at the front…!"

"Okay, but this is an endurance race," Sokka said, breathing rhythmically as he looked at Suki. "If you put everything into it right now you'll have no more energy by the end!"

"That's…" said Suki, swallowing hard and knowing Sokka was right. But to her surprise, Azula smirked.

"Speak for yourself, snow peasant," she said.

She winked at Sokka, still smirking as she suddenly started moving far faster than either Suki or Sokka… with sparks of blue starting to appear at the soles of her boots.

"What the…?!" Sokka said, his eyes widening. "Azula!"

"See you at the end of it, Sokka!" she shouted, as she carried on boosting herself through her bending, to Sokka's chagrin.

"But that's not fair!" he cried out. "That's cheating! Right…?"

"No idea! I mean… she's still running!" Suki said, frowning in confusion. Sokka huffed.

"This is ridiculous!" he growled. "But heck, at least that's only something she can do! The rest of the benders can't possibly…!"

His words were lost when he felt an unexpected amount of ice water pouring down his body. It was certainly helpful to be refreshed in the middle of the race, but not with water that cold, nor when he didn't see it coming. He actually screeched, to Suki's surprise, but she was a victim of the same attack only a moment later. By the time Sokka lifted his head he snarled as he saw a blur of blue passing between them.

"I'll be going on ahead, Sokka!" Katara said, smirking as she rushed in hopes to catch up with the current leaders of the race.

"I… I'm going to disown her! YOU HEARD ME?! I'M DISOWNING YOU!" he shouted, snarling as he forced himself to keep moving. Next to him Suki laughed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I think we're going to lose all our friends after today!" she declared. Sokka huffed.

"And I'm going to lose a sister, because I'm going to kill her!" he shouted.

Not long behind them was another competitor, glaring at their backs with determination as he pondered his possibilities. If he took it easy, keeping up with the two runners ahead of him, he might actually manage to pass them when it counted…

Azula smirked as she reached the Avatar and his former earthbending teacher, still using her fire as a boost for speed while still running properly, as Piandao had warned them. She highly doubted she was doing anything out of bounds, most unlike the earthbender who, taking advantage of the fact that the upcoming checkpoint was still too far for them to see she was bending, was using the street's grounds to her advantage. She kept her feet adhered to the ground as the mounds of earth she was bending helped her go far too fast for the Avatar to catch up to her.

While Aang was easily the most agile of the runners, he couldn't quite compete with Toph's actual cheating of the rules. He was yelling at her to do it fairly, since she couldn't just bend that way, and Toph decided to obey by no longer bending the mounds of earth… but she left the grounds behind her completely uneven. Aang groaned with frustration, and the girl laughed happily as she carried on using her bending to slow down Aang and everyone else behind her, crafting earth obstacles they would struggle to sort out.

"Who's being creative now?!" she shouted. Aang huffed.

"I can't wait to see what they'll say about that at the checkpoints, Toph!" he shouted. "To think she's using her bending like this, didn't she hear what Piandao said…?"

But as he mumbled to himself he missed out on the fact that someone was gaining on him… and his eyes widened upon seeing who it was.

She was sorting out the obstacles without a hitch, skipping through the uneven earth as though she were dancing, maybe. Aang's jaw dropped as he struggled to skip past one, wondering just how was Azula doing this… until he noticed the flares of blue under the soles of her shoes.

"What the…? Oh, great! If that's how it is then I can do it too!" he declared, angrily.

Two little swirls of air appeared at the bottom of his feet, helping him skirt past the obstacles more easily, for they served him as wheels. He felt bad, since he had the feeling he was cheating just like the other two… but he was still making the necessary running motions, wasn't he? This still had to be legal… at least, he believed so, if Azula's bending was fair too.

The intense rushing through Toph's obstacles ended a little faster than they anticipated it to, though, when she suddenly stopped bending as she had and began running perfectly legally once again. Aang frowned: was she only going to break the rules while she wasn't seen? Because that was just so messed up…

Yet even though he wasn't sure if what he was doing counted as cheating, he stopped doing it too, and so did Azula, for the first checkpoint was right up ahead. And a happy cackling old man sat at it, while a group of White Lotus agents wrote down which competitors had reached the checkpoint allegedly fairly.

"Bumi!" Aang shouted, once the man was in sight. Bumi waved.

"Aang!" he replied. "Did you have a good breakfast?!"

"It was fine, but you have to hear me out here! Toph has been using her bending to…!"

"Oh, you tattle-tale bastard, you…!" Toph roared.

"Whatever is your problem, Avatar? You were using your bending just fine too, weren't you?" Azula said. Toph gasped.

"Seriously now?! You hypocrite!" she shouted, as they finally reached Bumi.

"You have to disqualify us, then, don't you?" Aang asked Bumi.

The King only laughed as the agents around him looked at him questioningly. Was he going to do it or wasn't he going to…?

"Bend away, kiddies! That's how you become a master, isn't it?" he said, cackling. "It'll make the contest more exciting!"

Aang's jaw dropped. Toph actually snorted and put up a triumphant fist into the air as she got back to her bending. The agents around Bumi were just as shocked as the Avatar.

"Well, if this is how it is…" said Azula, smirking and rushing forth, her fire helping her speed up again. Aang huffed.

"This is absurd!" he grunted, but he kept up with the Princess as they sorted out Toph's obstacles, slowly but surely gaining on her as they started to run around the edge of the crater.

The race remained intense for the contestants at the top, especially when a rock bent by Toph missed Aang's head by inches. Azula smirked, noticing she'd never seen him quite as mad before. To her surprise, the usually pacific monk began bending in a way she couldn't quite understand… yet it was making Toph slow down somehow. She frowned as she noticed Toph struggling against something invisible, a light breeze reaching Azula…

She snorted upon realizing Aang was using a stream of air to hinder Toph's progress. Clever, harmless, and it would only ruin Toph's hairdo, at most. Which Azula doubted the girl would care much about anyways.

But this was a perfect opportunity for her, she realized. She had to speed up now and…

And suddenly Toph stopped bending again. Azula grimaced. She would have only done that if…

"Checkpoint!" she shouted. Aang stopped bending at her. "Fuck you, Twinkle Toes!"

"You've been ruining the race for everyone and you're going to be mad at me for a little breeze?!" Aang replied, smirking.

Without the chance to set up earthbent obstacles, Toph was slowing down compared to the other two, even if they weren't boosted by their bending either. By the time they reached Jeong Jeong's checkpoint post they were almost even, and Azula and Aang glanced at the man as they passed him by. Jeong Jeong didn't speak a single word, busy only scrutinizing them with his eyes as the agents beside him wrote down the names of the three runners.

Yet when they were out of Jeong Jeong's sight, and their bending battles were free to start again, a new contestant joined their struggle just as they were passing by the largest of the lakes in the city.

Aang had managed to hinder Toph so much that she had been passed by now, but not by him. Handling two streams of air so that they would only hinder Azula and Toph, without ruining his own rhythm, was a little more complicated now, but Aang was managing to do so… until he sensed someone else coming up behind him.

He probably should have seen from the corner of his eyes that the water of the lake was shifting, but it wasn't until it was pouring down his body that he realized what was going on. He yelped, the air walls he had set before Azula and Toph disappearing, to their surprise and disbelief… but when they were soaked by water too, and passed by a proud waterbender, they had no questions left about what had happened.

"Hey! Sugar Queen, you bitch!" Toph roared, trying to wreck the roads ahead, but she was only met by another stream of cold water, which slid down her back; Katara saw to it. "AGH! Stop that!"

"You've ruined all the roads, you have no right to be mad over this!" Katara declared, amused.

"Well, then, how about this?!" Azula shouted, shooting a blast of blue flames forward, that landed just where Katara would step next.

"Woah! What the hell?!" Katara asked, trying to bend at Azula again, but a new fire blast at the ground before her forced her to focus on what was happening before her, instead of behind her "If you burn me they'll disqualify you!"

"Well, I'm only burning the grounds, aren't I?!" Azula smirked as she dashed forward. Katara cringed as she was passed by the Princess.

"You won't get away with that!" she shouted, as she skirted off a weird ledge of earth Toph had clumsily bent before her.

Aang couldn't possibly carry on bending the small swirls of air that had boosted his speed, and Azula couldn't do the same with her fire either. Not when Aang was bending air streams that would hinder the three girls, and when Azula was busy casting fire behind her to create further obstacles for the three other benders. Katara would be busy now using her water to put out every little burst of fire that Azula conjured, and Toph still tried to bend the earth before the two girls up ahead in the race right now, but it wasn't paying off anymore. Especially when she kept stepping on puddles of hot water that made her cringe and wish, for once, that she had shoes so she could avoid potential burns with that accursed water…

The all-out bending combat stopped again, of course, once they were before Pakku's checkpoint. And it began again as soon as the man couldn't see them anymore, now with Aang dashing ahead next to Azula, trying his hardest to create a potent enough current of air to slow everyone else down. It wasn't paying off so well, though, since Katara kept bending water right ahead of him, prompting him to slip in the mud, unable to keep running and bending at once. All the while, Toph kept shifting the grounds, making it hard for everyone to keep their footing even if they were casting blue fire with their feet to heat up the earth, which made it hard for the earthbender to step on it at all.

"What the hell are they doing…?" Sokka asked, panting as he saw the bending battle up ahead. They were at least fifty feet away from them, but the chaotic bending was still easy to see for him and Suki.

"I have no idea," the girl replied, shaking her head. "But hey, maybe they're wearing themselves out with that…"

"I sure hope so," said Sokka, swallowing hard. "Though I admit… I'm starting to get a bit tired now…"

"You have to keep up, though! Come on, Sokka!" Suki said, jumping over a puddle and landing with difficulty on a crevice Toph had bent. "We can catch up!"

"We can't! Look at them! They'll kill us if we get anywhere near them!" Sokka said. "Remember what Katara did to us?"

"That's not important! Come on, hurry up!" Suki said. "Are you giving up so fast?"

"N-not really, but I'm being realistic, okay?!" Sokka shouted. "No way we can beat them!"

"Well, maybe there's no way you can beat them, Sokka," said Suki, smirking. "But… ah, there! Iroh's near!"

"What? The last checkpoint?" Sokka asked, huffing as he tried to catch his breath.

"They stopped bending! They do that with all the checkpoints! Come on, it's our chance!"

Sokka cringed and followed suit, guessing Suki had a decent strategy indeed. The four up ahead were clearly exhausted, for they weren't going quite as fast as they had been at first. All that bending had taken a toll on them…

He struggled to skirt past all the obstacles, hoping to keep up with Suki as she ran ahead of him. Soon the grounds were properly even again, and the two of them had a better chance to speed up just as the four leaders were almost by Iroh's station.

"Ah! Good luck, younglings, good luck! Carry on, it's just the final stretch now!" said Iroh, sitting only a couple of feet away from where Bumi still sat, smiling as he relaxed under the sun.

"We're… getting there!" Katara shouted, giving him the thumbs up. The others hardly replied.

"Keep it up! Ah, and you two as well, of course!"

The words were like another blast of cold water, even though Katara hadn't bent any of it for the last few minutes. Who were those two he was talking about…?

The question was answered when Suki rushed past them at full speed, with Sokka gasping and huffing right behind her. The four benders only had a brief moment to realize what was going on, and to take action immediately.

They didn't dare get back to their obvious, potentially illicit bending, while they were still within Iroh's sight, but that didn't stop them from pushing forth while running, with Aang, Katara and Azula passing Suki while Toph managed to stay ahead of Sokka. As soon as there was nobody to see them bending, though, the madness began again. Toph's techniques to shatter the street caused trouble amongst the group again, making Sokka lag behind again despite his best efforts. Yet Suki proved to be far more agile than anticipated, avoiding stepping on dangerous grounds and even evading a stream of water that could have struck her, but got Azula instead.

"You guys…! Wait up, damn it…!" Sokka gasped, hardly strong enough to jump over the debris Toph had left behind. Okay, so he had to work on his resistance for these sorts of things, he got it. Maybe he shouldn't spend heated nights with the Fire Nation Princess before these competitions, either…

But there was nothing to be done as the chaos of bending carried on ahead, getting ever closer to the Palace as they progressed through the streets. By now Aang had managed to get ahead, but after he sank in one of Katara's puddles Azula took the lead, rushing forward and finding that they were already within Piandao's sight. She didn't slow down at all, though, only rushing ever faster towards the end of the race. Yes, she had to run a lap around the Palace, but if she put enough distance between herself and the rest of them right now…

She was breathing heavily, knowing she was going to need a long break to recover properly after this. But she couldn't possibly stop now when she was right about to finish this race. She could rest later, first she needed to get to the Palace, to run around it, to cross that line.

She heard the footsteps behind her fading away and she smirked. She was putting proper distance between them, now it was just a matter of carrying on at this rate. She could do it, absolutely…

Guards were poised all around the walls, even though part of it had collapsed when the race had started. The finish line had been rebuilt with difficulty by some White Lotus earthbenders, although it was apparent that fixing the entrance completely would take time. It didn't matter, though, Azula resolved. She just had to keep running, she just had to keep running, she could worry about the Palace's architecture later…

A quick glance over her shoulder when she was around the eastern walls made her smirk. They weren't even behind her… well, that is, as long as they weren't making the lap around the Palace in the opposite direction. Was that even possible? Wouldn't Piandao have gestured at her if he thought she was going the wrong way? Oh well…

But as she reached the south gate she didn't come across anyone, and by the western end of the Palace she hadn't seen any of her rivals, so no, they hadn't been running the lap in the opposite direction. No, she was the uncontested leader right now, as it was supposed to be… a wild smile spread over her face as she rushed forth. She could already hear it, the sound of the cheers and congratulations, she could even feel the crown of the All-Around Champion of the White Lotus International Games on her head…

Azula could see the buildings that stood in front of the Palace again. She smirked, slowing down ever so slightly so her body would have a small reprieve after the crazed race.

But that was when she caught sight of someone collapsing not too far from the Palace gates.

Sokka's breathing was heavy, his limbs horribly overheated, his hair soaking wet both because of Katara's waterbending and because of his own sweat. He wasn't going to make it, he knew it from the start, but he was still running because he had no idea what else to do. He had already lost sight of Aang, Katara, Toph and Suki, and he was sure they had lost sight of Azula, who had suddenly sprinted so fast nobody could keep up with her. Well, good for her. He'd have to celebrate her gold medal later, maybe in his next life, because at this rate he was certainly only going to die.

"Fuck… everything…" he was gasping as he finally reached the Palace, ready to take the turn and start the lap around the building.

And that was when he felt a sharp burst of pain on his lower back.

Sokka fell hard on the uneven grounds, his eyes shutting as he gasped in pain. What the hell…? Was he stabbed? What on earth was…?

"See how you fare with that, southern scum!"

His eyes widened as he saw Hahn was passing him. Hahn… what had he done to him? Sokka reached with a hand to his wound, finding there was no blood, but he had punched him at least, if anything. It actually felt like chi-blocking, if he thought about it.

The bastard had attacked him, and now he couldn't bring forth enough strength to get up again. He couldn't even fight back! This was truly low, no doubt, even for one like Hahn. If only he could get up again he'd give him the beating of a lifetime…

But Hahn didn't get very far before a fist impacted directly against his jaw.

His cry of pain was even more pitiful than Sokka's, and if the sound of a bone cracking hadn't alerted Sokka of what was happening, the little shriek certainly did. Along with the sound of a body collapsing clumsily on the grounds, only a few feet away from him.

Sokka lifted his head with difficulty, finding Azula was standing before Hahn, her right hand clenched in a powerful fist. He hadn't seen her eyes glowing with such golden rage in a very long time…

"Stay down if you know what's good for you, bastard!" she shouted. Hahn clutched his face and actually fell sideways, groaning in pain.

Sokka was breathless, black spots swimming in his vision. Even so, he heard Azula stepping towards him, and felt her hand on his hot cheek as she looked at him in chagrin.

"Sokka, answer me, are you…?"

"I'm kind of… exhausted and hurting," he said, with a weak grin. "Damn it… I can't really see…"

"Don't end up blind like your friend, will you?" Azula said, grimacing as she scanned Sokka's back and legs carefully. "What the hell did he do to you? I just saw you falling, and when I saw he was right behind you I knew he'd done something…"

"I think he… punched me? Maybe chi-blocked me by accident, I don't know…" said Sokka, making a face as he struggled to push himself up with his arm.

"You're not bleeding at least. Damn him for this…" Azula grunted, shaking her head.

"But hey… hey, you should be happy…" Sokka said, smiling a little as Azula tried to help him up.

"Why? Because he attacked you?" she asked, frowning as she slung Sokka's arm around her shoulders. "Don't be ridiculous, it's not something I'd…"

"N-no, I mean, the race…" said Sokka, frowning. "Didn't you… win?"

Time seemed to stop when Sokka said that last word. Azula's eyes widened. She… oh, curse it all, she hadn't crossed the finish line!

She turned her head to the gate, horror-struck, to see the Avatar passing through the Palace gates with a broad grin, while, to her utter surprise, Suki came up right behind him. And struggling to outrun each other, Toph and Katara ran at their full might… for Katara to give out in the end, and Toph crossed the finish line before her.

"YEAH! I… did it!" Toph shouted, before collapsing on her knees right after passing the threshold, a bright grin on her face.

"Yeah, you know, Azula crossed first so… so you don't have a medal either way," Katara said, breathing with difficulty. Toph snorted.

"She didn't cross anything! She just ran off over there to… eh, what the heck happened to Sokka?"

The winners of the race only turned to look at the pair just then and there. The scene was slightly confusing, with Azula standing with one knee on the ground, as she tried to get Sokka to stand upright, and Hahn lying on the floor a few feet away from them, complaining away over his injury.

Piandao breathed out and shook his head, telling one of the guards nearby to keep an eye on the next runners. More of them were currently racing the lap around the Palace, so it would be good to keep a proper register of their order of arrival, no matter if the three winners had already crossed the finish line.

He approached the bizarre scene, stopping by Hahn first to tell him to head into the Palace for medical support before turning to Sokka and Azula, staring at them in confusion.

"Care to explain?" he asked, his hands on his hips. Azula grimaced as she pulled Sokka up.

"You saw what that asshole did," Azula growled, glaring at Hahn. Piandao folded his arms over his chest now.

"Actually, I didn't," he admitted. "I only saw Sokka toppling over, and then Hahn suspiciously showed up behind him. I would have stopped him from crossing once he'd finished the lap, and forced him to admit what he'd done… but you got to him a little faster than me, didn't you?"

"Well, it's not like you made much of a move to get to him. Was I supposed to do nothing?" Azula muttered, her eyebrow twitching. Piandao smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know if you were or weren't, I'll take this as evidence that you two are really such tight partners that you forget all about victories or rules when it comes to saving each other. It's good to know," he said. "But Princess Azula… you're disqualified for injuring another competitor. Just as Hahn's disqualified for the same reason. As for you, Sokka… I'm afraid you shouldn't finish the race. Head inside for medical support as well, it's better than for you to force yourself to keep running while injured."

"Not like I'm getting any awards anyhow," said Sokka, grinding his teeth at the pain of his back. "So it's fine… if she gets disqualified for helping me, I should be too, for making her help me at all, right?"

"Sounds honorable," said Piandao, smiling. "Come on, then."

Runners kept crossing the messy finish line as time passed by. Hahn was being treated by Northern Water Tribe healers for the rather gruesome red bruise on his jaw, fortunately far enough from the Avatar's group so that he wouldn't be a nuisance to them. While Toph laughed at Katara for having given up on the bronze medal, the waterbender was busy healing her brother's back, where he had a nasty bruise of his own. Aang stood by, watching warily, all the same as Azula did. Suki had wanted to check up on Sokka, but the Fire Lord had swept her into a hug and was currently kissing her to congratulate her for such a remarkable second place.

"Feeling any better yet?" Azula asked. Sokka smiled at her, sitting awkwardly as he was while his sister worked on him. He was currently shirtless, so Katara could patch him back together again with further ease.

"Somewhat. Eating something sure helped," he said, setting down the apple he had just finished.

"And drinking too," Aang commented, with a weak smile, for Sokka had already drained five tall water glasses in one fell sweep.

"I get it, I need to train more for constant exercise," he said, waving a hand. "I didn't think it'd be this bad, though… then again, I think I overexerted myself because of you lot."

"Us?" Azula asked. Sokka looked at her skeptically.

"Toph ruined all the roads, and Katara left puddles everywhere. It was like… twice the work just getting through all that mess!"

"Why, fire did nothing to you," said Azula, stubbornly. "If anything, you should just be grateful I helped you when I did."

"I am, but that doesn't mean you're not partly to blame for that mess," said Sokka, smiling. "You guys went slightly overboard."

"Only because we couldn't attack each other for real," said Azula. "If only we'd been able to…"

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing we couldn't or who knows how many injuries I'd be treating now," said Katara, sighing. "And even though we weren't supposed to hurt each other, that asshole Hahn did this…"

"At least Azula gave him payback, eh?" said Sokka, smiling at the Princess. "I owe you for that."

"You don't. If anything, you should be mad I took your chance to punch him yourself," Azula said.

"I can't say I mind. It's stuff like this that makes us partners, shared enemies and all…" he said, chuckling.

"Well, that's all great, you guys, but…" said Aang, frowning and looking at Azula. "I've been kind of confused by all this, honestly."

"By all what?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, by what happened just now, really" said Aang. "From what Piandao said, you were like… inches away from reaching the finish line and suddenly you'd run all the way to Hahn to punch him?"

"Yes, so?" said Azula, rolling her eyes. "If you want to rub it in, you can get in line because the Dirt Worm has already started mocking every last one of us…"

"That's not what I was going to do, no. The thing is, I was thinking you could have crossed the line and then ran to punch Hahn as you did. So why didn't you?"

Azula was left speechless, and so were the rest of them. Everyone looked at her, waiting for an answer, but she didn't have one. Not aside from the embarrassed blush rising in her features as she struggled to find a reason, anything…

But what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to cover up and save her image after that blunder? Everyone saw her as an ambitious and driven woman, whose mind was only ever set on absolute victory. Nobody thought she had softened up, at least she hoped they didn't, even after all the time she'd spent with Sokka. Everyone thought she had a single priority in life, and it was herself. She only wanted to prove her superiority, and to show everyone she was born for greatness…

Most of those notions weren't true, but she'd never tried to convince people otherwise. She had been fine with their fear, with their misconceptions about her. It was amusing, even, to see them so distrustful even when she meant nobody any harm.

But now… now they'd seen her act on a whim. That was how it was: there was no rationality, no thoughts given to what she was putting in jeopardy for Sokka's sake. She had been dreaming of absolute victory and glory one second, and as soon as she saw him fall, she had forgotten about all of it. None of it had mattered anymore. Not if Sokka was in danger. Not if he was hurt. She couldn't stand the thought of tending to him again, not after having feared for his life after that crisis against those brigands, before the Games even began…

And it was fine for her to feel that way, and for her to show Sokka how much she cared for him, but it absolutely wasn't fine for her to make it obvious before everyone. It wasn't, because now they'd know the truth…

She looked at Sokka, her eyes bright with panic. But his blue eyes, on the other hand, only gleamed with gentleness and gratefulness.

His back still hurt when he stood up, to Katara's surprise.

"Sokka, you shouldn't do that yet-… Sokka?"

His hands were on either side of Azula's face. The Princess's eyes widened.

Before she knew it, he was kissing her before the entire world. Before his friends, before his family, before the representatives of every other nation, before the White Lotus guards and Grand Lotuses… and her heart was about to burst out of her chest as her entire body went unresponsive under the touch of his lips. Was he actually doing this…?

She was far too aware of their surroundings, and it was clear he wasn't. He didn't want to be, either. All he wanted to do was show her how much he appreciated what she'd done for him. Truth was, he had thought she'd crossed. He had been sure she had. When he discovered otherwise he was shocked, but now that Aang had brought up that question he could only think of one answer for it. Because she had picked him, and his wellbeing, over victory. She truly had…

He had been right that morning, after all. She had lied about caring about victory more than she did about him.

He smiled as he pulled away, but he swept her into a full hug right afterwards. He half expected her to burn him, but was relieved when all she did was press her face to his shoulder, swallowing hard as she remained tense in his arms.

It didn't even take another second before the hoots and embarrassing cheers began, and Sokka only laughed as Azula clutched at him, feeling her legs weakening. Well, curse this jerk. So now everyone knew. Now everyone knew and they would start poking fun at them for being together, and… and she didn't really care that much, she realized. Because truth was, she had never expected Sokka or anyone else to show open affection for her in such manner, in front of so many people. Those sorts of things didn't happen to her, they happened to other people… but maybe Sokka really loved her that much.

And after how she had given up on victory without a second thought for his sake, maybe she loved him back just as much, didn't she?

"What the…? What the hell?!" Katara shrieked, her hands going up to her head in horror as she stared at the embracing pair.

Was this their first kiss? Had this insane race brought Sokka to fall in love with the girl she'd never want as her sister-in-law? Or had it happened earlier and she just hadn't known…? Whatever it was, Katara knew she didn't like it. There was no doubt on her mind that she didn't-…

"It was about time," said Aang, giggling beside her. Katara's jaw dropped as she tore her eyes away from her brother and the Princess, and stared at her fiancé instead.

"What did you just say?!"

"C'mon, Sugar Queen, everyone saw it coming but you!" Toph sneered, smirking as Katara's irritation turned to her instead.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Not too far from where they stood, Zuko still had his arms around Suki but his eyes were now set on his sister and the tall, shirtless Water Tribe man embracing her. Suki smiled awkwardly at the blank expression on his face.

"Didn't see it coming either?" she asked. Zuko swallowed hard and shook his head.

"I… wait, did you?!" he asked, finally reacting with some sort of emotion. When Suki smiled guiltily he looked at her accusingly. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I wasn't sure you'd like it," she said, smiling awkwardly. "But I mean, I did see him with lipstick smeared all over his face the other day… looked an awful lot like her shade, too."

"M-maybe he was trying it out on himself. Sokka likes doing those things," Zuko said, grimacing as his sole eyebrow twitched. Suki laughed.

"Well, he certainly tried it by taking it off her lips," she said. Zuko scowled. "Calm down, it's not a big deal that they've been dating, is it?"

"It's… probably not, but it's still weird! Your ex will be my… brother-in-law?" Zuko asked, grimacing. Suki smiled.

"I'm glad you're already warming up to the idea. I think they make a pretty good match," he said. "And I can hardly believe I do, but… who knew? Maybe those two were always suitable for each other and we never thought about it, huh?"

"I guess?" said Zuko, raising his eyebrow. "I'm allowed not to like it, though, aren't I?"

"Why don't you?" Suki asked, laughing.

"Because now I'm thinking I'll have to pay for their wedding…" he said, sighing. "Haven't I blown enough money already with the Games as it is?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Zuko. You should let those two worry about that, stop trying to take charge of everything," she said, smiling. "Besides, you should be thinking about our wedding before theirs, right?"

Zuko was ready to answer her until she uttered that last sentence. His eyes widened.

"Wha-… ours?" he asked. Suki smiled and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Well… yeah," she said. His cheeks were suddenly colored red after that.

"Huh. Ours…" he said, a slow smile spreading over his face as Suki laughed.

As people were now busy whether discussing weddings or secret relationships, Azula seemed to relax a little in Sokka's arms. Sokka smiled as he raised his eyes to find his dad was standing a few ways away from them, giving him the thumbs-up. Sokka chuckled as he held Azula ever closer, feeling her turning her head into his neck.

"You're the worst, damn you… what was that for?" she asked, with a thread of a voice.

"What was it for? Really?" he asked, smiling. "You just gave up on absolute victory to help me, you realize?"

"I realize, yes…" she answered softly.

"Then you should also realize that I'm grateful for it," he whispered to her. "Because it really means a lot, you know?"

"Well, I'm glad you appreciate it," she said. "I'm not doing it again."

"I won't ask you to," he said, smiling and kissing her temples.

But she knew she was lying. He knew she was lying, too. She would do it every single time she had to, because she had been doing it from quite some time ago already. She would turn her back on glory every single time if it was for Sokka's sake, no matter the cost. He had always known what love meant for him, but Azula finally understood what it meant to her.

"Thank you," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "You're amazing."

"And you're an idiot," she said, surrounding him with her arms too. "But… but I love you anyways."

The words took him by surprise, regardless of how her actions had already established her feelings quite clearly. Still, he smiled brightly before leaning in to kiss her deeply. This time she responded, choosing to forget all about everyone who might be watching. Who cared anyways? She had Sokka, and he was more valuable than any reputation she'd held on to, than victories or greatness. He was the man she loved, he loved her just the same, and she wasn't afraid of revealing that to the world. Not anymore, at least.

Eventually they parted, laughing together before joining in countless kisses again, as though they were alone instead of in the middle of a Palace courtyard. All that mattered was that they were together, at the very end of the Games, ready to face their next challenges in life standing by each other's side.


	7. Game 7: Crown

The final award ceremony was an event many looked forward to: the three best competitors of each discipline would be granted one last reward for their hard work during the Games. This reward was shaped as a string of leaves woven together, and it would be wrapped around the head of each champion as a crown would. There were three of them for each discipline, and they were all placed on tables as the champions readied themselves to receive their honors before a cheerful crowd.

It was only a few hours after the final race had concluded, hours Sokka and Azula had spent together and removed from the rest of the group. Even though everyone knew of their relationship by now, neither of them were ready to start answering their countless questions when they were far more eager to rest together after the hectic and chaotic race. Azula hadn't really noticed how exhausted she was until they both took their seat at the Palace steps, and as they replenished their energies with food and drink she rested with her head on his shoulder, Sokka smiling brightly with an arm around her waist.

* * *

"Well, that's that. Game over?" Sokka whispered, kissing the side of her head. Azula sighed.

"It was a welcome break, despite it all," she admitted.

"That it was," he admitted, relaxing against the steps. "A little hectic for someone who had only just recovered from a bad wound, no doubt, but still welcome indeed. Especially after all of this between us, huh?"

Azula smiled as Sokka grinned mischievously at her. He was wearing his shirt again, but loosely, which allowed her to caress his torso directly and even touch the scar he had referenced just now. The touch wasn't guided by desire or lust, as it had been the night before, and the night before that one, too, but rather, by gentleness and caring. Knowing he was okay, and that his sister's healing had taken effect by now, was reassuring for her.

"I suppose being with you like this will bring about perks and disadvantages at the same time, won't it?" Azula asked. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well, there's no doubt that having this sort of intimacy is nice," she said, hugging him under his loose shirt. Sokka smiled. "But you just keep getting hurt and making me worry."

"Uh. That," said Sokka, with a sad smile. "Well, I'm kind of indestructible, if that makes you feel any better. No matter who hurts me I'll always heal and always get back on my feet right after. Promised thing."

"Really, now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with skepticism. Sokka chuckled.

"Really. No need to worry, you won't get rid of me that easily," he said, kissing her brow. Azula sighed and hugged him tighter.

"I certainly hope not." she whispered. Sokka smiled.

"Sorry, though, that everyone found out so fast. I know you didn't want that…"

"I wasn't sure whether I wanted it or not, truth be told," said Azula. "But now that it's done I guess it could have been worse. Your sister certainly had a heart attack, my brother doesn't approve and I never expected him to, but everyone else is… unexpectedly fine with it."

"Toph probably thinks it's funny," said Sokka, smiling. "And Aang's a romantic. He'll think we're proof of how love can happen in the most unexpected places, so he'll be delighted about us because of that."

"Can't say that thrills me," said Azula, grimacing. "I only hope he won't start squealing upon seeing us, if he really thinks we're that wonderful. It'd be uncomfortable if he did."

"I do hope not. But hey, look on the bright side! Now we can be obnoxious and take revenge on our more obnoxious siblings and their relationships, eh?"

"That's quite appealing, I won't lie," said Azula, smirking. Sokka laughed. "Kissing you whenever either of them shows up? That's the life…"

"Yes, yes it is," he said, smiling and leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Though you don't have to wait for them to show up to do it, just saying…"

"What, really now?" Azula asked, smirking. "Who'd have thought…"

Sokka only laughed again as she reached up to kiss him deeply. He felt compelled to pull her onto his lap, but just as he was about to do so they were victims of a sudden tremor underneath them. They parted, glaring at the girl responsible for the earthbending that had shaken them up, and all she did was smirk.

"Final award ceremony is about to begin, you two. You can stop being all slobbery for a couple of minutes and get a move on," she said, smirking and ushering them to follow her. Sokka sighed.

"I honestly don't care much about these crown thingies. Do you?" he asked. Azula smiled.

"We have to do it, Sokka. Come on," she said, standing up and pulling him with her. Sokka sighed and surrounded her with his arms once he was standing, pressing one last soft kiss to her forehead.

"We'll take off on our own after this, though" he said "Once the whole ceremony and Games are finally done…?"

"We'll probably have to stick around until nightfall," said Azula. "You should fetch your things at the inn, now I think of it. Stay in my room tonight, and we'll take off again tomorrow as soon as we can."

"On a private ship?" he asked, beaming. "Maybe to someplace fun?"

"Huh. Are we thinking of the same thing?" she asked, smiling. "I'd actually been wondering if you'd like to take a longer break, stay in the Fire Nation a little longer…"

"I do like the sound of that, as long as we can be alone, that is," he said, biting his lip. Azula smiled.

"I'm sure Ember Island will be a good place for that," she said, her hand sliding down to his, their fingers intertwining.

Sokka's smile brightened as he looked at her in amazement. Azula laughed and placed her head on his shoulder briefly as they carried on walking towards where people were gathered, waiting for the award ceremony to begin.

The Heads of State were standing before the podium that the three top competitors of each discipline would be climbing onto. At either side of the podium stood the White Lotus representatives, waiting for the groups to be rewarded to get ready. Pakku took a step forward eventually, ushering the waterbenders to take their positions.

Anyone would have expected the three competitors to be proud and blissful, but while that was true for the Northern Water Tribe man who would take the silver crown, it wasn't true for Katara, who climbed onto the top of the podium with Aang at her left side. The Avatar was only smiling awkwardly as his fiancée's eyebrow twitched upon looking at her brother and the girl holding his hand.

"I still don't understand why none of you told me," she grunted at Aang. He sighed.

"We kind of did, though? Remember how your dad said that he welcomed her to the family…?"

"How does that count?! He just said something and you all denied it!"

"What? I didn't deny it. Heck, Toph even started teasing them about being way more than friends by the time they… oh. Sorry."

Chief Arnook was granted the honor to crown the winners, but he stood waiting until the Avatar's argument with his future wife ended. Both Aang and Katara blushed bashfully as Arnook laughed and placed the crown on Aang's head.

The Northern Water Tribesman was next, and Arnook embraced him happily after setting the crown on his head. Katara was still apologetic by the time he placed the golden crown on her head, and he only smiled and told her it suited her, helping her relax a bit. The musicians took to playing the Southern Water Tribe's anthem, honoring the top champion of the waterbending discipline.

Earthbending was next, and King Kuei was pleased to have Toph Beifong and Haru taking the gold and silver respectively, but he couldn't hold back a scowl as he stood before Kori Morishita, first of all. She had earned the bronze crown, to his eternal dissatisfaction: the more awards the Fire Nation earned, the more frustrated he'd be. Worse yet if they were earned in events where his earthbenders would be expected to excel…

To further chagrin of Kuei's, Toph didn't seem pleased by having the crown on the top of her head, since her hair made it difficult for it to stay put: as the Earth Kingdom anthem blared through the courtyard she struggled to place the crown properly and failed each time. So, by making use of her metalbending abilities, her crown suddenly shifted into an arm bracelet that she placed proudly on her right arm, with a bright grin on her face. A lot of people were shocked that she'd do that, Kuei most of all, but King Bumi seemed to find her decision absolutely agreeable and encouraged her to do that to everyone's crowns too.

As the earthbenders climbed off their podiums, it was the turn of the firebenders. Sokka kissed Azula deeply before letting her go receive her crown, which made it so that she'd be blushing and smiling somewhat uncharacteristically once she took her place at the top of the podium. As it had been before, Zuko was given the honor of crowning the champions, and he did as much proudly by congratulating the two men who stood at either side of Azula. But as he stopped before her his eyebrow twitched. Her blissful smile had turned into a mocking, proud smirk that made him wish he didn't have to offer her any sort of award right now. But despite himself, he placed the golden crown on her head and she stood upright, beaming.

"Ah, the Fire Lord granting me the crown. This is a day to be remembered," she said, her smirk widening. Zuko's patience was growing increasingly thin, but fortunately he was free to turn around and walk away from his sister once the Fire Nation anthem was finished, which he did immediately.

The non-bender awards were next, and before Sokka could make his way there Azula kissed him just as he had kissed her. He laughed and cupped her face, prodding his nose against hers before climbing onto the second place, as Suki stood at the center, with Hahn, bruised and fuming, on her left.

Hakoda was in charge of placing the crowns this time, and much as it had been with Kuei, he wasn't precisely approving of the third-place winner. He scowled as Hahn grimaced, before placing the bronze crown over his brown hair. If only one of those non-bender girls from the Fire Nation had participated in more events, maybe it would be them and not Hahn… but Hakoda had nothing to do but sigh and move on to place the silver medal on his son's brow now.

His semblance changed completely now upon being before Sokka. He smiled and patted his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter that you didn't take the gold," he said. "You're my brave son, that you are. I'm proud of you."

Sokka swallowed and smiled brightly, looking at his father with amazement as he felt himself growing slightly choked up. His father's approval had always meant much to him, he was still Sokka's hero in countless ways. He clasped Hakoda's hand before lowering his head, letting his father place the silver crown on his head and standing upright again. His eyes caught Azula's, who was smiling happily at him too as she clapped along everyone else.

Hakoda was all smiles still as he gave Suki her golden crown, and everyone listened intently to the Kyoshi Island anthem as it was played by the musicians. Only one ceremony remained, the one that would honor the ultimate champions of the Games…

Azula had hoped to stand at the top of the podium on this ceremony as well, but she had forsaken that chance only a few hours ago. She was to settle with a bronze crown this time, as Toph beamed and waited for her silver crown, and Aang stood between them both as he waited for his golden award.

As Iroh had been responsible for the organization of the event, he was the one placing the crowns on each competitor's head this time – or at least, he tried to place it on Toph's but she only turned it into another arm bracelet, this time placing it on her left. A rendition of the Air Nomad anthem followed, and Aang smiled and closed his eyes as the old tune brought back fond memories to him.

With that, the ceremonies were over and, by logic, everyone was free to go home. Only, most everyone wanted to spend one last night in the Fire Nation, at least, to celebrate the success of the Games. Zuko sighed as he watched champions speaking amongst themselves, as Kuei finally looked happy while chatting with the White Lotus's superior members, as Iroh laughed happily while Sokka promised him that he meant to be the best possible partner for his niece in every sense. Azula rolled her eyes and poked Sokka's ribs, for Iroh wasn't demanding any such promises from him, but Sokka seemed to feel obliged to make them regardless.

"It's all over now, isn't it?" said Suki, her head on Zuko's shoulder, an arm looped around his. Zuko sighed.

"It is. It actually is," he whispered, sliding his hand through his bangs. "It felt like it'd never end but… it's over. No need to stress about the Games anymore, right?"

"Right," said Suki, smiling. "Now you can stress about everything else instead."

"I'll have to," Zuko relented, grimacing. "But for now we can just hold the final feast, spend time with our friends, and just relax for the day, right? I mean, after all you just did in this race you deserve all the rest you can get…"

"I appreciate that thought," said Suki, smiling. "Maybe I'll stop by at the spa… you're welcome to join me if you want. You could use relaxation for sure."

"Heh. I think I will," he said, with a crooked grin. "Because yeah, I can relax. It's over, Suki. It's…"

"Uh, Fire Lord Zuko?"

The voice of Kuei behind him made him tense up immediately. Zuko turned slowly to find the Earth King looking at him with an indecipherable smile.

"Uh, yes, King Kuei? Something the matter?" he asked. "If it's about the feast, yes, you're invited…"

"Oh, no, it's not about that," said Kuei- "I was speaking with the White Lotus representatives, see, after having talked with Chiefs Arnook and Hakoda… and since these Games have been so successful in bringing the nations together, I proposed that we could make this an annual thing! They all seem to believe it will be a brilliant idea, that it will strengthen the ties between the nations and… are you alright?"

Zuko's prior uncertainty was now complete reluctance. His single eyebrow twitched as he dropped his head in his hand. Of course, the Games couldn't be over that easily. There was just no way this would end just like that…

He was still sulking over a proposal he couldn't quite reject during the feast, despite he had taken up Suki's offer and headed to the spa indeed. He truly had no choice but to accept it: all other Heads of State agreed to it, and most everyone was happy with the result of the Games, with a few notable exceptions. He couldn't rain on their parade now, or else risk ruining the Fire Nation's hard-earned, better image, and ruining the delicate balance of harmony between nations…

"It's a mess. Everything's a mess," he said, poking his food with his chopsticks as the feast hall was filled with cheer, laughter and music alike. Suki smiled next to him and shook her head.

"You know, I still think you'd be happier if you participated. You really should try joining in on some events next time, it'll cheer you up for sure," she said.

"What would have cheered me up would have been knowing that there will be no more events, ever," said Zuko, shaking his head.

"But Kuei's all excited, saying he'll organize everything this time!" said Aang, sitting at Zuko's right hand. "You don't have to worry about all that on the next one, it'll be a good chance for you to kick back and enjoy things, see?"

"I'm pretty sure Sparky has no idea how to kick back and enjoy anything, Twinkle Toes," said Toph, smirking as she finished nibbling on the meat scrapes on a chicken bone. "So don't waste your breath."

Zuko growled as Aang chuckled and carried on eating his vegetarian selection from the buffet. He glanced at Katara next to him, finding she kept shooting glares at two people at the end of the table, who were awfully comfortable around each other yet again, as though they were all by themselves.

"I still can't believe it's for real," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, how can it be? It's… it's weird. It's wrong."

"Wrong why?" Aang asked. Katara shrugged.

"I don't know. It just is," she said, sighing and shaking her head. "I've approved of all of his girlfriends so far, and none of them have lasted. What are your bets that Azula is the one he'll actually marry?"

"Heck, I'd think that'd be great," said Aang, beaming. Both Zuko and Katara glared at him. "W-what? They're happy together, look at them! Which one of you had ever seen your sibling any happier than that, huh?"

Despite they wanted to deny it, if just because of how the public displays of affection made them uncomfortable, there was little they could do to rebuff Aang's claim. Even if they were in their own world by now, kissing and laughing at each other's jokes, teasing one another however they could, there was no denying that the brightness of their smiles was unprecedented. Even if Katara had rather liked Sokka's previous girlfriends much better than Azula, it pained her to realize, and to admit to herself, that she hadn't seen him at such ease and joy as he was right now.

"Well… maybe I hadn't seen Sokka happier, but who knows how long it'll last, huh?" Katara grumbled stubbornly. Zuko sighed.

"All things considered… she's been living with him for four years," he said. "Whether they were always romantic or not. If they could take four years of being around each other without killing one another, well… may be it will last longer than we wish, Katara."

"You know, I really don't know what's your problem, guys," said Toph, shaking her head. "Is it you don't want to be related to each other? Because other than that…"

"Wait, what?" said Zuko, his eyebrow twitching. Toph shrugged.

"I mean, since you're so against this…" she said, smirking. "Maybe your problem isn't them but each other?"

"What the…? That doesn't make any sense!" Katara exclaimed. Zuko frowned.

"Well… you did take a long time to warm up to me," he reasoned. She froze.

"What is that supposed to mean?! Zuko, she's messing with us! She's only trying to turn us against each other so we leave those two alone!"

"Why would she do that, though?" Zuko asked, looking at Toph. She smiled and shrugged.

"Heck, I don't know. Maybe because you two are annoying and because I can tell that those two obnoxious weirdos really care about each other, so I figured I'd get you to leave them alone by changing the subject, eh?"

"Well, fat chance for that," said Zuko, huffing. "See, I knew these Games would be trouble in the end, and now look. My sister's got a boyfriend and her boyfriend is none other than Sokka. It's… it's ridiculous. And this only happened because of these Games!"

"What? But I'm pretty sure they got started ages ago…" said Aang, tapping his chin.

"Well, I had no idea until the Games happened, so there you go," he said, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at them. "Just… ugh. I'm really starting to think it's an act. No way they'd behave like that over each other if it's something real."

"People always start like that in relationships, Zuko, it's nothing new," said Aang, smiling. "Didn't you and Suki start that way?"

"We actually started by not telling anyone for about two months," said Suki, giggling softly. "And it's only now that he's finally more comfortable with public affection. But I'm fine with that."

"Heh, well, you sure looked comfortable when you were making out when the race ended," said Toph, smirking. "That's the second place reward nobody told us about, huh?"

"It's the Suki reward, I don't kiss anyone willy-nilly," Zuko grumbled. Toph laughed again as Aang frowned.

"Well, now, that's not fair," he said, pouting and looking at Zuko with judgmental eyes. "If she gets a kiss for the silver medal I should get one for the gold!"

Toph snorted and lashed out with a burst of laughter while both Katara and Suki looked at Aang with confusion. Zuko, troubled as he had been, now looked absolutely appalled.

"Wh-what did you just…? What?!" he exclaimed, as Aang beamed.

"Come on, just one kiss! Suki doesn't mind, does she?" he asked, winking at her. Suki, despite herself, did nothing but laugh, to Zuko's horror.

"Why are you laughing?! It's not funny! Stop laughing!" he exclaimed, as Aang puckered out his lips and leaned closer to Zuko.

"Come on, Fire Lord Hotman!" he ushered Zuko, who only leaned away from him and placed a hand on his bald head, keeping him at bay. "You know you love me!"

"Get the hell away from me!" Zuko shouted, as the table only laughed at his reactions.

At the very end of it, the pair that had been only focusing on each other now stared at the confusing scene taking place at the center of the table, and they weren't the only ones staring. Aang and Zuko's strange kiss fight was resulting in a lot of turned heads and confused stares through the entire dining hall. Azula raised an eyebrow but smirked as Sokka gulped.

"Good thing we're not involved in that mess, huh?" he asked, smiling at her. Azula shrugged.

"Teasing my brother tends to be fun, but no doubt, I don't even want to know what brought that on," she said, caressing his arm. "I only hope they don't start kissing for real, though. That would be slightly disturbing."

"An almost-married Avatar and the Fire Lord, kissing?" said Sokka, gulping. "Well, that's a huge scandal in the making for sure. Imagine that."

"People would talk about it for decades. Write stories of how their love was just so meant to be but frowned upon…" said Azula, smirking… Sokka huffed and poked her shoulder as she laughed.

"Are you by any chance planning on writing those stories yourself just to torment your brother, huh?"

"It would be rather amusing, yes" she asked, smirking "It's a perfect way to tease him to no end, you know I'm right."

"What I think I know, if I know you well, is that you've had enough to drink as it is," said Sokka, setting aside Azula's lychee wine. "And that if I don't get you out of here before the smooch party begins, you'll end up causing the biggest social scandal of the century by writing a dramatic version of it all, just because you just wanted to have some fun. Am I right?"

"Why… yes, yes you are," said Azula, smiling innocently. Sokka laughed and shook his head.

"Come on," he said, kissing her forehead. "Let's go. Things are better when we're alone."

"That's for sure," Azula agreed, surrounding him with her arms as he pulled her up to her feet.

Sokka's luggage had been brought to the Palace right after the final award ceremony had ended. Azula joined him on a carriage and helped him bring everything to her room, where they would only stay for one more day, but they resolved it was better to relocate his things there than having him running back and forth between the Palace and the inn, as he had that morning.

They had cleaned up after bringing Sokka's luggage, in Azula's private bathroom. They enjoyed that bath just as they had the one at the inn, if not more so given how exhausted they both were. As they floated in the water together they dozed off a little, relaxed in each other's embrace. And that was how they hoped to end the night, too.

Azula shed her robe and tunics as quickly as she could, to Sokka's surprise. Before he knew it he was gawking at her naked body as she walked to the closet, reaching for one of her nightgowns. She frowned upon realizing he was watching her, and she turned just to find him waving and smiling guiltily. She grinned too.

"Did you have other plans? Or were you just expecting us to sleep?"

"Hey, I only meant to sleep, personally, but you decided to strip like that and now I'm not sure how to hold back…" he said, smirking. Azula laughed.

"I'm pretty sure if we tried to do anything you'd probably pass out of exhaustion before either of us could get genuinely excited. It's been a long day," she said, glancing out the window. Sokka approached her, surrounding her waist with his arms and letting his head rest on the top of her head.

"The sky looks nice tonight," he said. "Did you know you can see lots of stars from here?"

"More than you can from your tribe?" Azula asked, closing her eyes and resting against him. Sokka nodded.

"Though there's also the southern lights down there," he commented, with a smile. "You should see them sometime. They're beautiful."

"You'll have to take me, then." she said. "I do hope I'll be able to cope with your extremely cold environment…"

"No worries, I'll see to it that you will," said Sokka, grinning. "If it gets too cold, well… there's some pretty fun ways to rise your temperature all over again."

"Huh. I wonder what you mean," she said, smirking up at him. Sokka chuckled.

"You'll see in time, I guess," he said, hugging her tightly. "Curses, I really don't know what we should do now. I mean… I really liked working with you, but now I like being with you without working and I just don't want to work again!"

Azula laughed as she guided him to her bed. She helped him change out of his clothes, leaving him in his preferred sleeping garb – as in, his undergarments only. Sokka smiled once his clothes were scattered on the floor and he dropped on the mattress, spreading his arms so she would settle between them.

"I always knew you didn't love your job that much," she said, smirking as she relaxed in his arms. "Now you've discovered you love sex much more than that."

"Yeah, well, that's not much of a discovery. Everyone does," said Sokka, grinning and stroking her hair gently.

"Still… do you mean you'd like to take a break?" she asked. "To just… not go back yet? If we ever go back at all?"

"I guess retiring from being field agents wouldn't be the worst thing," said Sokka. "Though we still have our best years ahead of us… so we could maybe take a sabbatical! Just… one year of not working, traveling the world, seeing sights, spending time together…"

"That's what you want, then?" Azula asked, smiling. Sokka bit his lip.

"Too forward?" he asked. Azula shrugged and reached up to kiss him.

"Maybe a little. But I don't mind," she said. "It sounds like you want a honeymoon before the wedding. Which I guess will mean we'll have two honeymoons, unless you'd rather we get married before we take off…"

"How about if we get married in the middle of the honeymoon?" Sokka asked, smiling. Azula laughed. "Though I'll admit, I'll need to make your betrothal necklace first. Got to remember to do that…"

"Make sure it has fire engraved on it. It's only appropriate," said Azula, settling with her head on his shoulder. Sokka smiled.

"That it will be," he said, rubbing her shoulder with a hand. "But… does that mean you really would marry me?"

"Huh. I wonder…" she answered, mysteriously. Sokka snorted.

"Damn it, maybe that one really was too forward," he said. Azula laughed. "It's just… I don't know when we're talking seriously or when we're joking around, so I just… asked without thinking. Sorry about that."

"Don't be," said Azula, caressing his chest. "If anything… I don't want anything else. I don't want anyone else. I want more of this week, and the last four years, with you. And… and maybe it is forward, but if you asked, I doubt I'd say no for any other reason than to annoy you. And you already know me so well that you'd know I'm just doing it for that reason. So you'd know that saying no is my way of saying yes without saying yes…"

"You're so complicated." he said, chuckling. She only smirked proudly.

"And you're simple. You need the complications in your life, Water Tribe boy, like it or not." she said, lifting herself and leaning forward to kiss him again. He caught her lips with his and returned her affections fully.

"Heck, maybe I like them too much," he said, smiling sweetly. "I love you, Azula."

Her heart seemed to pound in her chest as she looked at him gently, knowing the words to be true. And knowing she could say them right back at him with full honesty, with nothing to get in the way between them.

"And I love you, Sokka," she whispered, softly, pressing her forehead to his.

The party and festivity weren't over, but the noise would hardly reach Azula's room, allowing the two lovers to drift into peaceful sleep, closing the door behind the White Lotus International Games at long last, while simultaneously opening the one to their bright and beautiful future. A future they would share from beginning to end: a future that belonged only to them, that they would defend with everything they had. Their love was strong, and despite their previous clashes with that particular emotion, by now they welcomed it fully because it was with each other. And they would see to it that it would always be that way: their lives would remain entwined long after the very end of their time.

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's that. I absolutely loved working on this piece, and I sure hope you all enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the other Sokkla Saturdays stories, they're amazing!**


End file.
